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TEXTILES 



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APPLETON'S BUSINESS BOOKS 

Retail Selling and Store Management, by Paul H. Neystrom 

Advertising and Selling, by Harry L. Hollingworth 

The Business of Advertising, by Eleurnest Omo Calkins 

Modem Advertising, by Earnest Elmo Calkins and Ralph Holden 

Money and Banking, by John Thom Holdsworth 

The Modem Bank, by Amos K. Fiske 

The Work of Wall Street,^ by Sereno S. Pratt 

Funds and Their Uses, by Frederick A. Cleveland 

Credit and Its Uses, by William A. Prendergast 

Rural Credits, by Myron T. Herrick 

Clearing Houses, by James G. Camnon 

Financial Crises, by Theodore E. Burton 

Interest Tables, by H. B. Bryant, H. D. Stratton & S. S. Packard 

Bankers' and Merchants' Interest Tables, by Francis H. CofHn 
and D. H. Moore 

Corporation Finance, by Edward S. Mead 

Trust Finance, by Edward S. Mead 

The Principles of Industrial Management, by J. C. Duncan 

Modem Industrialism, by Frank L. McVey 

Cost-Keeping for Manufacturing Plants, by Sterling H. Bunnell 

Modem Accounting, by Henry Rand Hatfield 

Accounting Practice, by Clarence M. Day 

Elements of Accounting, by Joseph J. Klein 

A First Year in Bookkeeping and Accounting, by George A. 

Macfarland and Irving D. Rossheim 
American Corporations, by John J. Sullivan 
Corporations and the State, by Theodore EL Burton 
American Business Law, by John J. Sullivan 
The Essentials of Business Law, by Francis M. Burdick 
Property Insurance, by Solomon S. Heubner 
Life Insurance, by Solomon S. Heubner 
The Life Insurance Company, by William Alexander 
Newspaper Reporting and Correspondence, by Grant Milnor Hyde 
Practical Journalism, by Edwin L. Shuman 
American Railway Transportation, by Emory R. Johnson 
Elements of Transportation, by Emory R. Johnson 
Ocean and Inland Water Transportation, by Emory R. Johnson 
Railroad Traffic and Rates, by Emory R. Johnson and Grover G. 

Huebner 
Railroad Finance, by Frederick A. Cleveland & Frederick W. Powell 
Railroad Administration, by Ray Morris 
Railroad Accounting, by William EL Hooper 
Building Business, by C. N. Crewdson 
New Volumes Will Be Added To This List At Frequent Intervals 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK 




H 

m 



COMMERCIAL EDUCATION SERIES 



TEXTILES 



PREPARED IN THE 
EXTENSION DIVISION OF 
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 






BY 



PAUL m NYSTROM, Ph.D. 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMT 
THE UNIVEBSITT OF WISCONSIN 




2tov\hL 
ILLUSTRATED 



D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
NEW YORK CHICAGO LONDON 

1916 






COPTBIGHT, 1916, BT 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 




Printed in the united States of America 

FEB 28 1916 

'' ©Cl, A 4 87 02 3 



PREFACE 

The purpose of this book is to present in concise form 
the essential facts regarding the ordinary textiles of com- 
merce — the sources of raw material, the methods of manu- 
facture and distribution, the tests to determine quality, the 
economic aspects of textiles, and the other phases of the 
subject which are of importance to all who manufacture, sell, 
or use the products of the textile mills. 

It is hoped that the book will prove of equal interest to 
retail and wholesale salespeople who wish to increase their 
efficiency by acquiring a thorough knowledge of the goods 
they sell; to home-makers who, as consumers of textile 
products, are concerned with the conditions governing their 
production and distribution; to educational institutions 
conducting courses of instruction in the textile field ; and 
to the general public seeking definite information regard- 
ing a class of commodities that occupies an exceedingly 
important place in world commerce and which has an 
intimate relation to the comfort and welfare of all civilized 
peoples. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 



I. THE TEXTILE FIBERS . 

The demand for clothing . 

The textiles .... 

The common vegetable fibers 

Miscellaneous fibers 

Vegetable silks 

Textile use of the animal fibers 

Gold and silver 

Spun glass .... 

Slag wool .... 

Asbestos 



II. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE TEXTILES 

Linen 

Wool 

Cotton 

History of silk 

III. MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR PREPARA- 
TION OF TEXTILES 

Ancient methods of spinning 
The spinning wheel 
The spinning jenny 
The spinning mule . 
Effect on textile industry 
Recent improvements 
Weaving . . 
Power weaving 
Knitting . . 
Dyeing and finishing 
The Industrial Revolution 
General- results of the Industrial R.evolution 
vii 



PAGE 
I 
I 
I 

2 

5 
6 

6 

7 
8 
8 
8 

10 
10 

II 

12 

14 



20 
20 
21 
21 
22 
22 
22 

23 
27 
29 

30 
31 
36 



VIU 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

IV. 



COTTON PRODUCTION . 

The cotton fiber 

Cotton belongs to mallow family 

Number of species . 

Names of cotton species . 

Conditions favoring growth . 

Where produced 

General qualities of the principal kinds of 

cotton .... 
Variations in grade 
Improving the cotton * 
Cotton culture . . . 
Cotton losses on farms . 
Hauled to the gin . 
The cotton gin 
Cotton lint and seed 
Cottonseed products 
The cotton bale . * . 



V. COTTON MARKETING 

The first exchange 

Tenancy . 
Cotton Grading 

Chance in grading 

The standard grades 

Method of grading in cotton-exchange towns 

Value of the different grades . 

English grades 
Middlemen's Exchanges of Cotton 

The cotton exchange 

VI. COTTON MANUFACTURING . 
The manufacturing processes 
Purchase of cotton by spinners 
The Spinning Process 
The steps in the process . 
Comparison of the mule and ring frames 



CONTENTS 



IX 



CHAPTER 



Yarn 

Warp and weft yarns 

What a pound of cotton contains 

Use of yarn numbers in handling cotton 

Mixing cottons 

Forms in which y^rn is put up 

The Weaving Process 
The steps in the process 
The machines and the laborers 
Air conditioning in cotton mills 
Cotton waste and its use 
Cloth inspection and repairing 



VII. GEOGRAPHY OF THE COTTON TRADE 
Reasons for the cotton trade . 
Extent of cotton trade . 
Cotton-exporting markets 
Cotton-importing markets 
Why the greatest cotton market is not in the 
United States . 

COTTON-MANUFACTURING CeNTERS 

Cotton manufacture in the United States 
Cotton manufacture in England 
Cotton manufacture in Germany 
Cotton manufacture in India 
Cotton manufacture in Russia 
Cotton manufacture in Japan 
Cotton manufacture in France 
Use of waste cottons in Europe 



VIII. DISTRIBUTION AND PRICES OF COTTON 

GOODS . 98 

Processes preliminary to distribution . . 98 
Location of finishers and distributors . . loi 
Expense of manufacturing, finishing, and 
distributing 



loi 



X 

CHAPTER 



IX. 



X. 



CONTENTS 

Variation in prices . 
Conditions affecting profits 

Linen 

Ancient use of linen 
Source of linen 

Necessary factors of production 
Character of the flax fiber 
Flax growing . 
Why flax must be pulled 
Flax threshing or "rippling' 
Retting 
Breaking . 
Scutching 
Hackling . 
Spinning . 

Qualities of linen yarn 
Linen finishing 
, Irish linen 

European linens 

Adulteration of linen 

Uses of linen . 

Few changes in fashions in linens 

THE CLASSES OF WOOL . 

Character of the wool fiber . 
Factors Determining the Quality of Wool 

Varieties of sheep . 
4 Food for the sheep . 

Climate . . . 

Differences in seasons 

Health of sheep 

Cleanliness 
How the Manufacturer Buys Wool 

Standard grades of wool 

What the terms mean 

English method of grading wool 



CONTENTS 



XI 



Special classes of wools 
Conclusion 



XI. THE PRODUCTION OF WOOL . 

Why wool production is falling off 

United States .... 
Methods of wool production in this co 
Possibilities of loss on sheep ranches 

Shearing 

The fleece 

Wool washing . , > , 



in 



untry 



XII. WOOL MARKETING 

Local wool marketing . 

Sales to commission houses . 

Sales by auction . . . . 

Sales direct to mills 

Farmers' cooperative sales agencies 

Wool merchants .... 

The auction system of marketing . 

Auctions in this country . 

Factors of successful marketing . 

XIII. THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL 

Storage of wool 
Wool sorting . 
Wool scouring 
Wool drying . 
Burr picking . 
Carbonizing 

Loosening and oiling the wool 
Ripening . 
Woolens and Worsteds 
Mixing 

Carding and spinning of 
Sizes in woolen yarns 
Uses of woolen yarns 



woolen yarns 



the 



PAGE 

140 

140 
143 

143 
144 

145 
145 

146 
146 

147 

147 
148 
148 
148 

153 

159 
160 

160 

161 

161 

162 

162, 

163 

163 



Xll 

CHAPTER 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



The combing and carding processes for 

worsteds . . . . . . .164 

Gilling and combing 164 

Drawing 166 

Spinning , . . . . . . . i60 

Worsted yarn sizes . . . . . . 167 

Weaving 168 



Woolen fabrics 

Worsted fabrics . .... 
Mixing wool with other textiles . 
Cotton in knit goods .... 
Wool wastes or by-products . 
Uses of wool wastes . . . 

XIV. THE GEOGRAPHY OF WOOL PRODUC 
TION 

General facts 

Primary wool markets . 

Concentration points 

Centralization of wool manufacturing 

XV. MOHAIR, ITS NATURE AND USES 

Sources of mohair .... 

Mohair and its uses 

Quality of the hair .... 

Handling goats on range 

Receipts from raising Angora goats 

XVI. RAW SILK PRODUCTION . 

The Silkworm or Moth . 

Varieties of silk moths . 

Stages in the life of a silkworm 
How THE Silk Fiber Is Obtained 

Reeling 

Breeding silk moths 

Silk wastes 

Silkworm diseases . 
Wild Silks 



168 
168 
169 
169 
170 

176 

176 
176 
178 
179 

182 

182 

183 
184 

185 
187 

188 

188 
188 
189 
192 

193 

195 

195 
196 

198 



CONTENTS 



Xlll 



CHAPTER 



Quality of wild silk ..... 198 

Nature of Silk Fiber 199 

Absorptive power of silk .... 199 

Human Labor in Silk Production . . . 200 

Cost of production 201 

Where the raw silk is produced . . . 201 

Attempts to raise silk in the United States 201 

Methods of production in Japan . . . 201 

Improvements in reeling silk . . . 202 

Marketing Silk 202 

Importations into this country . . . 203 

Markets for waste silk 203 

XVII. SILK MANUFACTURING 204 

United States first in silk manufacturing . 204 

Quality of the raw silks .... 204 

Silk consumption in the United States . . 205 

Uses of the various kinds of silk . . . 205 

Kinds of silk yarn 205 

Other kinds of silk threads . . . . 207 

Process of silk manufacture . . . 209 

Use of machines in silk throwing . . . 212 

Localization of silk-throwing mills . . 212 

Preparation for weaving .... 213 

Warping 213 

Weaving 214 

XVIII. THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK WASTE . 216 

Sources of silk waste . . . . . 216 

Variations of methods in use . . . . 216 

Qualities of spun silk . . . . . 219 

Use of spun silk yarns 219 

XIX. IMITATIONS OF SILK ..... 221 

Reasons for imitating silk .... 221 

Mercerized Cotton . . . • . .221 

John Mercer . 222 

Story of mercerized cotton .... 222 



XIV 

CHAPTER 



CONTENTS 

The mercerizing process 

Qualities of mercerized cotton . 

Modern methods of mercerizing . 

Mercerizing fibers other than cotton 

What cottons are best suited to mercerization 

Cottons are combed rather than carded 

Uses of mercerized cotton 

Producing crepe effects by mercerization 

Social applications of mercerization 

Silk Surfacing 

The Artificial Production of Silk 

Andemars .... 

Swan 

Chardonnet 

Other varieties of artificial silk 

Qualities of artificial silk 

Amounts of artificial silk used and value 

Uses of artificial silk 

Artificial silk cloth . 

Mixing other fibers with silk . 
Silk Weighting 

Object of weighting 

Weighting of raw silk . 

Weighting substances used 

Explanation of weighting 

Methods of weighting silk 

Effects of weighting 

XX. CONSTRUCTION, COLOR, AND FINISH OF 
CLOTH 

Cloth Designing . . 
Sources of designs . 
General methods of varying the design 
Woven structures .... 

XXL DYEING AND PRINTING 

Recent development of textile dyeing 
The principle of dyeing . . . 



223 
223 
224 
226 
226 
227 
227 
227 
228 
228 
229 
230 
230 
230 
231 

233 

234 

234 

234 

234 

235 

235 

235 
236 

236 

237 

^V7 

239 
239 
239 
240 
.241 

250 

250 
250 



CONTENTS 



XV 



Production of fast colors 

Problems in the chemistry of dyeing 
CoMMOJsr Dyestuffs . 

Natural dyes . . ' . 

Artificial dyes . 

General classes of dyes . 
Methods of Applying Dyes 

The dye process 

Printing .... 

Factors affecting success of dyeing 

XXII. CLOTH FINISHING . 

Importance of cloth finishing . 
Bleaching 

Bleaching agents 

The bleaching process . 

The bleaching industry . 

How the bleacheries handle cotton 
Cloth Dressing 

Dressing materials . 

How the dressing is applied . 
Calendering .... 

The beetle finish 

Watered effects 

Embossing .... 

Schreiner finish 
Other Finishing Processes . 

Dressings applied to the various 

Lisle finish .... 

Wool finishing 

Worsted finishing . 




XXIII. THE CARE OF TEXTILES . 

Importance of proper care 
General Directions for Care of 
Protection from mildew . 
Storing textiles . . . 
Protection from insects . 



textiles 



Textiles 



PAGE 

253 
253 
253 

255 
260 

260 

261 

263 

265 

265 
265 
266 
268 
269 
269 
272 
272 
274 

274 
274 

275 

275 

275 
276 

276 

277 

281 

282 
282 
282 
283 
283 
284 



xvi CONTENTS 








CHAPTER 






PAGE 


Prevention of destruction 


of textiles 


by 




moths 






284 


Care in laundering . 






294 


Theory of removing stains 






299 


XXIV. TEXTILE TESTS 






310 


Reasons for textile tests . 






310 


Necessity for simple tests 






312 


The Kinds of Tests to Be Made . 




312 


Length and width . 






313 


Weight .... 






314 


Durability, a relative term 






314 


Firmness .... 






318 


Elasticity 






318 


Weighting 






318 


Strength ... * 






319 


Tests for flocks 






320 


Tests to determine whether 


wool will 


turn 




shiny 






. 320 


Estimate of durability of nap 






. 321 


Tests to determine whether cloth will hold its 




shape or not . 


. 




. 322 


Fastness of color, a relative term . 




. 322 


Permanency of finish 


. 




. 324 


Tests for kinds of textiles 


. 




. 325 


Tests for silk and its imitations and adultera- 




tions .... 


... 




• 332 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



^y 



Steam ginnery . Frontispiece 

FACING PAGE 

Cotton plant, showing height 38 

Cotton bolls . 38 w-^ 

Soft and compressed bales 50 »^^ 

Gathering samples 50 

The various forms in which yarns are placed upon the 

market 7^ 

Drying flax straw before removing seed . . 

A field of flax 

Special Australian stud ewes 

Sheep shearing by machinery 

Silkworm culture . . , . , 

Raw silk bundled and baled 

Reel in operation 

Reeled and waste silk 

Silk mill operative 

Silk weaving 

Standard weaves 226 v^ 

Standard weaves 234 V 

Standard weaves 240 v^ 

Standard weaves 246 v^ 

Standard weaves 252 ^ 

Standard weaves 258 v^ 

Torn end of cotton material 330*^ 

Torn end of linen material . , 330^ 

ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT 

PAGE 

A pair of hand cards . 24 

Throwing the shuttle through the warp shed by hand . 25 

XV ii 



112 


iX 


112 


v^ 


124 


u^ 


124 


i^ 


188 


ix 


r88 


\^ 


i94i^ 


194 


^ 


214 


V 


214 


l^ 



xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Jacquard loom 28 

Diagram of a sheep's fleece, showing grades of wool . 156 

Raw wool statistics 176 

Diagram of continuous dye process 261 

Diagram of processes in the full madder bleach , . 271 



TEXTILES 



TEXTILES 

CHAPTER I 
THE TEXTILE FIBERS 

The demand for clothing. — Food, clothing, fuel, and 
shelter are four primary needs of the human being. With 
respect to the importance placed upon clothing there is 
much difference among the various races. It has been esti- 
mated that there are about 1,500,000,000 people living at 
the present time. Of this number about one third are fully 
clothed, according to our civilized standards; one half are 
partly clothed; and the remainder, or about 250,000,000 
people, are almost entirely without clothing. Among civil- 
ized people clothing occupies a position close to food in 
importance; custom and fashion have even caused us to 
rate clothing above mere actual physical needs and com- 
fort. 

To supply the articles of clothing of civilized life many 
objects from all parts of the world are drawn upon, in- 
cluding the common textiles, leather, rubber, fur, feathers, 
bark, paper, grasses, and so on. But in quantity used and 
in commercial value the most important are the textiles. 
In entering upon the study of textiles, then, we take up a 
subject of the greatest practical importance, one that merits 
more careful attention than has yet been given to it by either 
tradesmen or consumers. 

The textiles. — The textiles comprise all materials that 



2 TEXTILES 

are spun into threads, cords, or yarns, and then woven or 
knit into cloth. There are many such substances. They 
are almost invariably of fibrous or hair-like structure how- 
ever; hence the raw materials are generally spoken of as 
textile fibers. 

The textile fibers of industrial and commercial impor- 
tance are naturally classified according to their origin as 
vegetable, animal, and mineral. 

Vegetable. — The more commonly used vegetable fibers 
include cotton, flax or linen, jute, hemp, manila hemp, ramie 
and China grass, sisal, pineapple fiber, New Zealand flax, 
coir, Cuba bast, paper mulberry, Tampico fiber, palmetto 
fiber, straw of wheat, rye, barley, or rice, split palm leaves, 
osier willow splints, rushes, wood pulp, paper, grasses, sea- 
weed, barks, moss, cotton wool, cotton silk, vegetable silk, 
and several others. 

Animal. — The animal fibers comprise sheep's wool, goat's 
wool or hair, mohair from angora goats, cashmere from 
Thibet goats, alpaca from llamas, vicuna, hair of rabbits, 
beaver, cat, dog, horse, cow and camel, mulberry silk, and 
the wild silks. 

Mineral. — The mineral fibers include gold and silver 
threads, tinsel, spun glass, slag wool, and asbestos. 

The common vegetable fibers. — The vegetable fibers of 
greatest importance in textile manufacture are cotton, flax 
or linen, ramie, jute, and hemp. The ease with which cotton 
fiber can be transformed into yarn and its suitability for 
all forms of woven, knit, and lace fabrics, together with 
its cheapness of production, have caused it to take the 
leading place among textiles, until its production now about 
equals that of all other fibers put together. A little over 
a hundred years ago, flax was the most important textile 
in civilized lands ; today it ranks fourth. Cotton, wool, and 
jute lead by large amounts. 

Ramie, — Ramie and China grass (similar in quality and 



THE TEXTILE FIBERS 3 

usually considered to be the same, but really two different 
plants) are fibers of unusual serviceability. They possess 
great strength, luster, and the appearance that fits them 
admirably for dress goods, table linens, linings, fish lines, 
upholstering, and in fact for whatever purposes linens are 
used. Ramie has entered commerce through English 
manufactures in hosiery, knit goods, and to a certain extent 
in the manufacture of incandescent gas mantles. Recently, 
fabrics known as ramie linen have sprung into great popu- 
larity. Very fine yarns can be made from the fiber, although 
5nost of it is made up into coarse fabrics at present. In 
England and Germany, ramie is used rather extensively 
in the manufacture of union silk goods. 

The chief drawback to ramie is the cost and difficulty of 
its production. No cheap or easy process has as yet been 
established for separating the fibers from the woody stems 
of the plants. At present the fibers are separated by hand, 
and although labor in the countries where ramie grows is 
cheap, the process is still too laborious and expensive. 
When mechanical devices shall have been perfected to do 
this work, we may look forward to a big development in 
ramie as a clothing textile. 

Jute. — Jute is one of the cheapest fibers of all. Most of 
the world's supply comes from Bengal, India, and there 
its production is increasing rapidly. Its chief use is in the 
making of gunny sacking (especially used for covering cot- 
ton bales), burlaps, cordage, and matting. Some of the 
finer qualities are used in making shirtings and coat linings, 
and it is often mixed with wool, cotton, and flax in making 
the cheapest clothing materials and curtains. It is also 
mixed with silk in making cheap satins, velvets, and plushes. 

It should be stated in passing that burlap may be made 
of jute, flax, hemp, or manila. The name burlap is a gen- 
eral one that is used for several kinds of coarse textile 
materials such as those used for merchandise wrapping, for 



4 TEXTILES 

upholstering, and for floor coverings; the finer grades are 
often used for wall decorative purposes. 

The jute plant has a tall slender stalk something like 
that of hemp. The fiber comes from the inner bark. It 
is easy to remove and to spin into coarse yarns. It is not, 
however, a very strong fiber and does not bleach readily 
like most other textiles. Furthermore, when exposed to 
dampness, it soon begins to rot. Were it not for this, jute 
would be used much more than it is for ropes and for 
other coarse textile purposes. 

Hemp. — Hemp is the fiber used chiefly in the manufac- 
ture of rope and cordage. Like that of jute, the fiber comes 
from just inside the outer bark of its plant. This plant 
grows to a height of six to ten feet with stems up to an 
inch thick. The fiber is stronger than jute and stands the 
effects of water better than any other textile fiber ; hence it 
makes a splendid rope material for use outdoors or in 
water. There are many varieties of hemp plants, and 
there is considerable difference in the quality of the fiber 
produced. Russia produces more hemp fiber than all other 
countries combined, but Italy produces the finest quality. 
In this country, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, and California 
lead in its production. Wisconsin produces a small but in- 
creasing amount each year, and the soil and other conditions 
of the state promise considerable increase in its production. 
The process of extracting the fiber is similar to that used 
in treating flax, as described in detail in the chapter on 
flax and linen. 

Sisal. — Sisal or henequen is a fiber valuable for rope and 
cordage, and comes from the agave, a plant growing in 
Mexico and Yucatan. The century plant, which is known 
to many, belongs to the agave family, and is similar to sisal. 
The fibers come from the large, fleshy leaves and are easy 
to remove. Sisal is used extensively in the manufacture 
of binding twine in this country. It makes a strong rope, 



THE TEXTILE FIBERS 5 

but salt water destroys it rapidly; hence it is not used in 
ocean shipping. 

Miscellaneous fibers.— Tampico fiber, sometimes called 
istle, is another hemp product used in making coarse cord- 
age, brushes, and baskets. 

Manila hemp is the strongest rope fiber in common use. 
It comes from the stem of a plant or tree belonging to the 
banana family, and is not a true hemp at all. The fibers, 
the longest in commercial use, are used in making rope, 
cordage, and the best grades of binding twine. A small 
amount of the finest fibers are made up by the natives of 
the Philippines into a cloth called ''abaca." Practically all 
manila hemp comes from the Philippine Islands. 

New Zealand flax, obtained from a plant belonging to 
the lily family, produces another good rope fiber, as do 
also the Mauritius hemp, bowstring hemp, pandanus, yucca, 
and aloe. 

Pineapple fiber, obtained from pineapple leaves, is fre- 
quently used in the making of coarse cloths and cordage 
in China, South America, and certain parts of Mexico. 
The finer fibers are used by the native races in making a 
beautiful cloth of silk-like texture which they call "pina." 

Coir is the fiber obtained from the outer husk of the 
cocoanut. The coir fiber runs in length up to ten inches 
and is of varying thickness an*d strength. The coarsest and 
stiffest is used in making brushes, the longest in making 
rope and cocoa matting, and the short curly fiber is used 
for packing material and upholstery stuffing. Coir rope is 
of value because it is not affected by salt water. It is not 
so strong as manila rope. 

Cuba bast is sometimes used for wrapping cigarettes and 
for packing cigars. 

The paper mulberry of Japan is put to the ordinary uses 
of paper. 

Straw finds an important place in the manufacture of 



6 ^ TEXTILES 

straw hats, matting, and, in certain countries, as for exam- 
ple China, in the making of shoes and sandals. 

The grasses, particularly the swamp wire grasses, have 
come to have a very important commercial place in the pro- 
duction of grass rugs suited for dwellings and porches. 
They are especially adapted for summer uses. Grass rugs 
are neat, cleanly, and cool in appearance. No floor cover- 
ing has so great future trade possibilities as grass rugs. 
A considerable amount of this class of goods is made in 
Wisconsin at Oshkosh, Superior, and Racine. 

Vegetable silks. — The cotton and vegetable silks are ob- 
tained from about fifteen varieties of plants and trees which 
yield fibers, generally attached to the seeds, as seed hairs. 
The largest group, including at least nine varieties, com- 
prises the so-called ''cotton trees" or Bombax cottons. 
These grow in Central America, Brazil, South Asia, the 
West Indies, India, Java, and certain parts of Africa. The 
fibers are known commercially in Europe as ''kapok" and 
are worth from nine to sixteen cents a pound. Kapok 
is used chiefly in the manufacture of mattresses and pil- 
lows, and in upholstering. According to trade reports it 
has recently been spun and woven into cloth with excellent 
success. 

Another group, the asclepias cottons, also growing in the 
tropics, produces seed hairs or fibers that have a very high 
silk-like luster, but these are so brittle as to be of little use 
in any textile that must stand wear. 

The cotton silk tree of India, growing to a height of 
seventy to eighty feet, produces a seed hair fiber of most 
beautiful luster, but like that of the asclepias cottons, it is 
too brittle and weak to be of great use. 

Wood pulp finds its place in the textiles principally in 
the production of certain kinds of artificial silk. It will 
be discussed in considerable detail under that subject. 

Textile use of the animal fibers. — Hair, the natural cov- 



THE TEXTILE FIBERS 7 

ering of animals, has from time immemorial been used in 
the textiles. Certain kinds, such as the wool from sheep 
and from goats, have special properties or adaptability for 
spinning and weaving; others, such as rabbit hair or fur, 
cannot be spun, but can be used as felt. Wool finds its 
principal uses in five different branches of manufacture : 
worsteds, woolens, carpets, felts, hosiery, and knit goods. 
Silk, a product of the larvae of several species of moths, is 
also classed among the animal fibers. Since both wool and 
silk will receive full attention in later chapters, they need 
not be discussed further here. 

Gold and silver. — The mineral fibers have the least im- 
portance in the field of textiles. Gold and silver threads 
are used to a limited extent in fancy and costly fabrics, em- 
broideries, and laces, and tinsel in cheaper decorative ma- 
terials. To supplant the solid metallic filaments, which are 
difficult to handle and expensive to make, linen or other 
threads are covered with gilt or silver, and they serve the 
purpose as well as the solid metallic threads. In times 
past, say from 1500 to 1750, gold and silver were used 
much more than they are at present. Gold and silver laces, 
embroideries, braids, and cloths of gold and of silver were 
common among the nobility and very wealthy people. So 
much money was spent for this finery that laws were occa- 
sionally passed by different nations forbidding extravagant 
use of such goods, especially among those not of noble or 
royal blood. In those days men outglittered the women in 
gaudy colors, feathers, laces, and embroideries. Not until 
within the last hundred years have women come to outdo 
men in such matters of dress and style. Recently metallic 
textile fibers have been made by dipping cotton or jute 
threads into a chemical mixture which impregnates them 
with just enough of a given metal to give the thread a true, 
fine, metallic sheen. This product is used chiefly in em- 
broideries, and dress-trimming novelties. 



8 TEXTILES 

Spun glass." — Spun glass or glass cloth is another rather 
important mineral textile. Common glass is heated until 
it is as liquid as thick syrup. It is then drawn out into 
fine threads and, before being cooled entirely, is woven into 
fabric and given its proper shape. While melted, it may 
easily be colored and the finished product may be made very 
beautiful. But its usefulness as a fabric is confined to serv- 
ice where little or no bending is required, since the glass 
when cooled becomes as brittle as ever, and therefore breaks 
easily. It has a limited use for ornamental and decorative 
objects. Spun glass cloth is likewise used as a filter for 
strong acids which would destroy ordinary filter fabrics 
or papers. By different kinds of manipulation glass fibers 
can be made either straight like linen threads or curly like 
wool. 

Slag wool. — Slag wool is produced from molten slag just 
out of the iron blast furnaces. This liquid slag, a waste 
product of the furnace, is turned into a closed chamber 
where strong currents of steam are forced into it, blowing 
it into fine particles which take fibrous or stringy shapes. 
These fall to the bottom of the chamber and are cooled in 
water. The resultant substance looks something like coarse 
wool. It is used chiefly as packing material. 

Asbestos. — Asbestos is the most important mineral used 
in textile manufacture. It is found as a rock in various 
parts of the world, especially in northern Italy, northern 
Spain, and in Quebec, Canada. Most of the American sup- 
ply comes from Quebec. This rock does not crumble under 
pressure, but comes to pieces in fine fibers of considerable 
length, flexible, and sometimes a little wavy. These fibers 
can be spun into yarn and made into fabric, or they can be 
pressed into a sort of felt-like cloth. The color of natural 
asbestos varies from pure white to gray, green, or rusty. 
It is difficult to dye artificially. The most noteworthy qual- 
ity about asbestos is that it will not burn; hence asbestos 



THE TEXTILE FIBERS 9 

fabrics are usually made up into goods where that quality- 
is desired, such as fireproof theater curtains and scenery, 
aprons, gloves, packing for steam joints and cylinders, lamp 
wicks, and lighting rings for oil stoves. The short straight 
fibers are rather hard to spin. In the manufacture of asbes- 
tos yarn, therefore, asbestos is frequently mixed with cot- 
ton to give the yarn strength. Later the cotton is removed 
by burning it out of the fabric, leaving the asbestos unin- 
jured. Asbestos is also a very poor conductor of heat; 
hence it is frequently used in making table mats for hot 
dishes, packing for steam pipes and other heating appara- 
tus to prevent the escape of heat where it is not wanted, 
and packing material for fireless cookers. In a large plant 
in the East the experiment of sending steam through an 
asbestos-covered pipe a mile long was tried. The boilers 
delivered 375 horse power of steam at 350 degrees Fahren- 
heit. At the end of the pipe the steam had lost only 10 
horse power out of the 375 — a striking proof of the remark- 
able non-conductivity of asbestos when properly applied. 



CHAPTER II 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE TEXTILES 

No one can tell when man first learned how to spin and 
weave textiles. That no great degree of civilization is pre- 
requisite is evident when we see every savage tribe of the 
present making some kind of woven fabric. In any case, 
the oldest histories give us glimpses of men spinning, weav- 
ing, and knitting. 

Linen. — Flax has been cultivated in Asia Minor for its 
linen fiber for more than four thousand years. Linen cloth, 
linen twine, and linen rope served man before iron and 
steel were utilized. People who lived in the stone age, the 
period when their implements were made of stone instead 
of metal, knew how to make flax or linen fabrics, remnants 
of which have been discovered in caves and in their buried 
cities. As is well known, linen cloth was the fashionable 
fabric of ancient Bible times. "Fine linen" was a mark 
of honor accorded only to the high and mighty. Mummies 
buried thousands of years ago in Egypt have been uncov- 
ered recently, and the coverings have been found to be 
linen cloth, made from a variety of flax slightly different 
from that now commonly grown. 

For many hundreds of years Egypt was the greatest linen- 
producing country in the world. It was not until about a 
hundred years before Columbus discovered America that 
other countries were able to produce more than Egypt. 
Then every country in Europe began to cultivate flax, and 
until the latter part of the eighteenth century, when a 

10 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE TEXTILES ii 

number of inventions made cotton fabrics cheap, linen was 
the most generally used textile. With the coming of cheap 
cotton, linen fell back into' second place. Later it had to 
give place to wool also, wherefore it now occupies third 
place among the textiles used for clothing. In fact if one 
is to consider jute also, linen comes fourth. 

Wool. — Sheep's wool and goat's hair have also long been 
used as textile fibers, and, of course, the skins from these 
animals have been used for clothing and tents for a still 
longer time. Sheep have been raised in practically every 
country, and the fiber is easy to manipulate and to work 
into textile products. The ancient Romans were skillful 
in spinning and weaving wool, and from them the people 
of northern Europe learned the art. About four hundred 
years after the birth of Christ (c. 400 a. d.) Roman soldiers 
in Great Britain started a wool-weaving factory at the Brit- 
ish town of Winchester to supply themselves with clothing. 
From this factory the native inhabitants of Great Britain 
learned the value of wool, and began to spin and weave it 
for themselves. Later the wool of England became famous 
as an excellent product and was much demanded by other 
countries in Europe. Sheep raising succeeded better than 
the textile arts in England, however, in the early days; 
hence other countries bought its raw wool rather than the 
English wool fabrics. Several monarchs of England did 
their utmost to encourage the manufacture of wool. This 
manufacture was finally put upon a successful commercial 
basis by some Flemish immigrants who had fled into Eng- 
land because of religious persecution. Both wool workers 
and merchants came to London in large numbers during 
the reign of Henry II. Guilds were formed and London 
was given the monopoly of exporting English woolen cloths. 
From these beginnings several hundreds of years ago, Lon- 
don came to be, and is yet, the world's greatest wool mar- 
ket both for raw wool and wool cloth. 



12 TEXTILES 

It is interesting to note that during the hundreds of 
years that man has raised sheep, the breeds have been slowly 
but remarkably developed. First the Romans, later the 
Arabian Mohammedans — or Moors, as they were called — 
and finally the Spaniards, evolved the wonderful breed of 
fine wool-producing sheep now known as merinos. Nearly 
all the finer wool now produced comes from sheep descended 
from these Spanish merinos. 

Cotton. — Cotton was grown and made into cloth in India 
fully six hundred years before Christ. The textile arts 
were developed to an advanced point very early by the 
Hindoos. If one may believe the accounts of the fineness, 
strength, beauty, and lightness of the East Indian gossa- 
mers, the products of their hand looms, made long centuries 
ago, have never been equaled by any modern fabric. 

Cotton was also known to the highly advanced South 
American Indians. Samples of good cotton cloths have 
been found in their most ancient tombs. Columbus found 
the Indians of the West Indies wearing cotton, and Cortez 
and Pizarro often saw it in use. 

Cotton was known to the Greeks as "tree wool" and was 
fancifully described in some of their ancient books. It did 
not reach western Europe until about 900 a. d., when it 
was brought westward from Arabia by the conquering 
Moors. They introduced it into Spain, whence it gradually 
spread over the rest of Europe. There was some manu- 
facture of cotton in northern Italy as early as the sixteenth 
century. From there it was communicated to the Nether- 
lands. About the beginning of the seventeenth century 
there was religious trouble in Netherlands and Flanders. 
Some of the Flemish cotton manufacturers, spinners, and 
weavers were involved in these religious quarrels, and had 
to flee for their lives, as did the wool workers who came 
over from these countries to London. The cotton workers 
fled into England and settled in Lancashire where they 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE TEXTILES 13 

made a new beginning in cotton manufacture and succeeded 
from the start. With this hopeful beginning in the seven- 
teenth century, Lancashire came to be the greatest cotton- 
spinning and weaving locality in the world. By 1641 the 
industry was well established in the homes of the people 
about the city of Manchester. 

After the sixteenth century there was a steady and 
growing import of cotton goods from India into all parts 
of Europe; but about one hundred and twenty-five years 
ago Europe began to produce more than she needed and 
more than India had produced. By means of this East 
Indian trade in cotton and in many other goods, such as 
spices, silks, jewelry, and so on, European traders and 
merchants, particularly those in the East India Company, 
amassed great fortunes. For a time the English trade in 
Indian goods was a monopoly controlled by the East India 
Company and sanctioned by the king of England. 

England's rise to supremacy in cotton manufacture. — 
At the time of our American Revolutionary War, England 
had so gained in manufacturing ability that she had become 
a strong competitor for the world's textile trade. It was 
partly because of England's policy of forcing the American 
colonies to buy her manufactured goods that the War of 
Independence broke out. In 1656 the English government 
had prohibited the American colonies from importing raw 
materials to manufacture into cloth. The law made bad 
feeling even at that time, especially in Massachusetts where, 
on the one hand, it acted as a stimulus to home manufactur- 
ing and, on the other hand, led to smuggling in foreign 
materials without paying the English tax. But the same 
policy was carried out by England at home also. It was 
thought perfectly legitimate to attempt to force her own 
people to buy English goods. In Scotland in 1775 there 
was formed a society for discouraging Scotch and English 
women from wearing cotton dress goods and robes made in 



14 TEXTILES 

India, urging in preference the calicoes and lawns of Glas- 
gow and Paisley, although the raw cotton in these British 
products came from India. In addition to any help that 
may have been received from following such restrictive 
measures, the natural advantages of England, such as cli- 
mate, cheap power, and easy shipping facilities by ocean 
on all sides, caused England's textile industry to grow 
rapidly. 

Progress in Cotton Production. — During the last hundred 
years the United States has forged to the front as a pro- 
ducer of both raw and manufactured cottons. At present 
the annual cotton crop is not far from i5,ooo,cxxd bales 
of nearly 5CX) pounds each. In the manufacture of cotton 
the United States is closely rivaling England, though 
England still has the lead. Within the last forty years 
Germany has advanced to third place in the manufacture 
of cotton. 

The history of the production of raw cotton during the 
last twenty-five years records notable extension to new ter- 
ritory, as, for example, into China, Japan, the East Indies, 
Mexico, South America, and several parts of Africa. With 
increase of acreage there has also come the application of 
scientific agriculture to cotton production in the southern 
states. By means of proper selection of seed, introduction 
of new and improved varieties, better preparation of the 
soil, and wiser management of the growing crop, the total 
product has been materially increased. In many cases these 
improvements have resulted in the production of over twice 
as much cotton to the acre as was formerly raised. 

History of silk. — Silk culture had its beginning in China, 
how long ago no one knows. There are records that seem 
to show that it was an important industry as early as 3000 
B. c. There is a legend that silk culture was introduced 
by a Chinese queen, Si-Ling-Chi, from some country to 
the southwest, and that she herself raised the worms, reeled 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE TEXTILES 15 

the threads, and taught the people to do the same. She 
is now known among the Chinese as the "Goddess of the 
Silk Worms." 

Silk production was introduced into Korea and Japan 
about 200 B. c. Later it spread to India and Persia, al- 
though the Chinese government attempted to keep all silk 
production to itself. To ship silkworm eggs out of the 
country meant capital punishment. It was from India and 
Persia that Europe first learned of silk. To a certain extent 
the new material was used in Roman times by the emperors 
and the women of the court, but it was not until about the 
tenth century that it became known generally over west- 
ern Europe. Much of it came into use at first for church 
embroideries and royal robes, especially in the form of a 
silken fabric called sammet, produced in Arabia. Other silk 
fabrics introduced into Europe during the Middle Ages 
were known as ciclatoun, cendol, and sarcenet. Satins, vel- 
vets, and brocades were introduced in the latter part of the 
Middle Ages, all from the Orient. 

Arabia was for a long time the connecting link between 
the Orient and the West, and from Arabia the Europeans 
got silk embroidery, gold brocade, silken curtains and man- 
tles, and, by the fourteenth century, taffeta, which originally 
came from Persia. 

The production of raw silk in Europe was begun in Italy 
before the middle of the twelfth century, and silkworms 
were raised in Spain by the Mohammedan Moors certainly 
as early as the eighth century. At one time the business 
was encouraged by the popes of the Roman Catholic Church, 
and later by the kings of France. Under such conditions 
Tours and Lyons in France became prominent silk-pro- 
ducing centers. By the seventeenth century, France sup- 
plied a large proportion of the silk goods used in the western 
world, a service in which she has led all other countries 
for most of the time since then. At present, Italy pro- 



i6 TEXTILES 

duces more raw silk than France, but France produces more 
of the manufactured product. 

Silk culture in America. — Shortly after the settlement of 
America experiments were tried in raising the silkworm 
here. The first attempt was made in Virginia in 1622 upon 
the advice of the king of England, but the result was an 
utter failure. Later small amounts of raw silk were pro- 
duced in Georgia, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 
and Rhode Island. Connecticut was the least unsuccess- 
ful. During the Revolutionary War the industry died out 
and was not revived again until 1826. Beginning with that 
date and continuing for ten years there was great progress 
in silk production. Several societies of growers were 
formed, books published, new machinery invented, and in 
some states public funds were raised for the promotion and 
study of the industry. The United States Government pub- 
lished a document intended to be used as a manual of in- 
struction for silk growers. 

The silk craze of the thirties. — Previous to 1836, silk- 
worms had been fed and raised on the common white mul- 
berry leaves, but about this date someone introduced plants 
of the Chinese mulberry known as the morus multicaulis 
which, it was claimed, had some special properties and values 
for silk-growing purposes. Immediately all the silk grow- 
ers in the country desired the Chinese mulberry. The new 
plant was so hard to get that a craze developed in which 
the price for the plants rose to fabulous sums, small cut- 
tings selling for almost their weight in gold. Acres and 
acres were planted with Chinese mulberry trees, and great 
fortunes in silk production in this country seemed near at 
hand. 

In 1837, however, a severe financial panic broke over the 
entire country, closing nearly every bank and driving great 
numbers of business men into failure and bankruptcy. 
Money became scarce. Those who had debts to pay found 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE TEXTILES 17 

it difficult to raise the necessary amounts. This panic of 
1837 hit the sillc and mulberry industries hard. Chinese 
mulberry plants so declined in value that they could be had 
for ten cents per hundred. Thousands of persons were 
ruined in this crash which lasted throughout the years of 
1837 and 1838. Silk growing naturally received a terrible 
set-back, which was made worse by the severe winter of 
1839, which killed nearly all the Chinese mulberry trees still 
to be found in the country. For several years no more silk 
was grown in the United States. 

Many years passed before there came any revival of 
interest in this country in growing silkworms. In the 
meantime, manufactories sprang up here and there in the 
East, which imported from Europe all their raw silk. By 
i860 there were no less than sixty-seven factories. There 
had grown up an importing trade, and business had ceased 
to look to domestic sources for supplies of raw silk. 

The California silk craze. — In 1861 a Frenchman 
named L. Prevost began raising silk near San Jose in Cali- 
fornia. Prevost was something of a promoter and he soon 
interested a considerable number of California people in 
the industry. His plan, however, was to raise the silkworm 
mainly for the eggs rather than the silk fiber. The eggs 
were to be sold to French and other European silk pro^ 
ducers. The California State Agricultural Society became 
interested in Prevost's scheme and aided in its advertising, 
and the state legislature passed a law offering a bounty to 
silk producers. But Prevost was more successful in pro- 
moting the idea than in keeping the venture going. What 
had developed into a good-sized silk-culture craze in Cali- 
fornia quickly collapsed when the would-be growers found 
that the silkworms required an immense amount of care, 
that they were subject to a number of destructive diseases, 
and that even the California winters were tod severe for 
the worms when kept out of doors. 



i8 TEXTILES 

Recent attempts to produce raw silk. — Attempts to raise 
silkworms were made in Kansas in the boom days of that 
state, in the later seventies, but the droughts of the eighties 
stopped the silk culture there. About 1878 the Department 
of Agriculture in Washington became interested in silk 
culture, and in the years that followed made considerable 
effort to interest the people of various sections of the coun- 
try, especially the South, in growing silkworms. By 1883 
regular annual appropriations of money were made for the 
Department that it mig'ht study and promote silk growing. 
A reeling institution, or filature, was established at Wash- 
ington, and cocoons were purchased by the government 
from all growers. Silk growing was revived in Kansas and 
California and extended into Louisiana and, later, in the 
nineties, to Utah. 

Interest in silk culture on the part of the Department of 
Agriculture slackened in 1890, and it was not until 1901 
that another effort was made to introduce silk growing. 
This time it was planned to start the industry among the 
southern negroes of the poorer classes. But even this 
scheme has not been found successful. 

The coming of oriental silks into American markets.— 
Since the bursting of the morus multicaulis silk-growing 
boom of 1830 and the Prevost craze in Cahfornia in i860, 
and during the time of the more recent experiments just 
referred to, certain new factors have crept into the silk 
situation which at present seem to preclude for a long 
time to come the possibility of making silk growing profit- 
able in this country. In 1854, Commodore Perry of the 
United States Navy sailed into the ports of Japan and 
made possible by national treaties the opening of trade with 
a country which up to that time had held itself aloof from 
all the rest of the world. It happened that Japan was a 
great producer of raw silk, which became henceforth one of 
its principal articles of export. Some years later, China, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE TEXTILES 19 

the greatest silk-producing country, commenced commercial 
relations with the rest of the world. From these two coun- 
tries there poured into Europe and the United States a 
stream of raw silk that speedily reduced the market prices 
of this commodity from nine and ten dollars to three and 
four dollars a pound. Japan and China were full of men 
and women, who, although working for daily wages of some 
eight to fifteen cents, were nevertheless expert in the care 
of silkworms. Against such conditions of cheap production 
the United States could do nothing. Even France lost 
ground, and today silk culture there is standing still, despite 
the help of French government bounties. In Europe, only 
Italy, with her cheap labor and excellent facilities for pro- 
ducing what is pronounced to be the best raw silk in the 
world, has continued uninterruptedly to cultivate the silk- 
worm. 

As soon as the Japanese and Chinese markets were 
opened to the world, many of the largest manufacturers in 
this country, as well as in France and Germany, estab- 
lished buying agencies in the midst of the raw-silk-produc- 
ing areas. It was soon found that there was much waste 
of energy and of material in the ancient methods employed 
by both Chinese and Japanese in reeling the silk. This was 
remedied, so far as certain individual companies were con- 
cerned, by starting on their own account reeling factories, 
called filatures, and by training the native workers in meth- 
ods of using the improved machinery and methods installed. 
Several American silk manufacturers now own filatures at 
Shanghai and Canton, the principal silk markets of China. 
More recently, Japan has started experiment stations and 
inspection systems throughout her silk-growing areas, aim- 
ing at improving the product to meet the demands of the 
markets of the United States and Europe. 



CHAPTER III 

MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR PREPARATION 
OF TEXTILES 

The mechanical side of the textile industry has had an 
interesting and remarkably rapid development during the 
last hundred years, through the evolution of the modern 
processes of spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, and fin- 
ishing. 

Ancient methods of spinning. — The earliest method of 
spinning was simply to twist the textile fibers into a thread 
by means of the thumb and fingers, or between the palms 
of the hands, or sometimes, between the palm of the hand 
and the naked thigh. Evidently these processes were ex- 
tremely slow; yet for ages, or from earliest history, these 
were the methods in use down to about the time that Colum- 
bus discovered America. During all this time the only im- 
plement used in spinning was a stick, usually about eight 
to twelve inches long, to which was attached the end of 
the thread which was being twisted, and upon which the 
finished thread was wound. 

The primitive spindle. — This stick, the primitive spindle, 
was usually held in the right hand, while the mass of fibers 
to be spun was held in the left. A loose thread was formed 
from the fibers, drawn out to arm's length, and attached to 
the spindle, which was then whirled between the thigh and 
the right palm until the thread had been sufficiently twisted. 
Then the thread was wound upon the stick and refastened 
at the end ; a new bunch of fibers was drawn out from the 

20 



MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR PREPARATION 21 

left hand, twisted and wound on the stick as before; and 
so the process continued. 

The spinning wheel. — As stated above, at about the time 
that America was discovered or probably a little later, a 
new method, and a much better one, came into use in Europe 
and spread rapidly throughout the western countries. This 
invention was the spinning wheel. It combined three im- 
portant parts, the spindle to twist the yarn or thread, the 
distaff to hold the loose raw fiber, and a wheel, operated 
either by hand or by a treadle, to turn the spindle and 
wind the finished yarn. At first the distaff was held in the 
hand ; later it was placed in the spinner's belt or girdle ; but 
finally someone hit upon the bright idea of placing it on 
the machine, thus leaving both hands of the operator free 
to handle the loose fiber. Who invented the spinning wheel 
no one knows. The idea probably came from Persia or 
India, since these countries used spinning wheels much 
earlier than did the people of Europe. Furthermore Japan 
and China had used similar contrivances for hundreds of 
years before Europeans had dreamed of such an invention. 

The form of spinning wheel just described was in con- 
stant use in the homes of the people almost down to our 
own time. Many now living in this country have seen the 
spinning wheel in use, and one can find, here and there, in 
old family homes and in museums, the spinning wheels that 
once whirred merrily in the making of woolen or linen 
yarns. A hundred years ago, no home was complete with- 
out a spinning wheel. 

The spinning jenny. — In 1764, a man named James Har- 
greaves, a poor laborer of Blackburn, England, invented a 
machine which he called the spinning jenny, which twisted 
several threads at one time instead of the single thread of 
the common spinning wheel. In 1769, a spinning machine 
of different type was invented in Preston, England, by a 
barber named Arkwright. Both machines came into use 



22 TEXTILES 

rapidly, especially Arkwright's, which made the better 
yarn. 

The spinning mule. — Next came an improvement by 
Samuel Crompton of Bolton, who combined the good ideas 
of both machines and called his invention the spinning 
mule. Improvements have since been made in this machine 
from time to time, but the spinning mule is still in use today, 
although another sort of spinning machine called the ring 
spinner, invented in 1835 by Richard Roberts, is used rather 
more now for common grades of yarns. The mule is used 
principally for the finer grades of soft and fancy yarns. 

Effect on textile industry. — These inventions had an im- 
mediate effect on cotton production. Lancashire sprang 
to the front in the manufacture of goods that had formerly 
come from India, such as calicoes and muslins, and by 1785 
cotton cloth became as cheap as linen. Another important 
factor in the promotion of English cotton manufactures was 
the growing French fashion of wearing English cotton 
goods made up into clothing for both men and women. 
Though in France itself this custom died down during the 
dark days of the French Revolution and the hard times that 
followed, yet elsewhere the demand for the English goods 
became permanent. The cheapness and utility of these cot- 
ton goods could not be overlooked by the masses. 

Recent improvements. — During the last fifty years the 
main improvements in spinning have been largely by way of 
increasing the speed and making the operations more and 
more automatic. For example, in 185 1, one operator could 
care for about 50 spindles. Now the usual task is 125. 
Fifty years ago the spindles revolved at the rate of 5,000 
turns per minute. The usual speed now is hearly 10,000 
turns. Practical mill men claim that this is about the limit 
of improvement in this direction. 

In this connection should be mentioned the immense im- 
provements in the preparation of the raw fibers for the 



MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR PREPARATION 27, 

spinning machines. Machinery now supplants all the old 
hand processes of cleaning out the dirt, sticks, and leaves 
often found in cotton, also of opening up the bales and of 
carding. Before the middle of the nineteenth century, ma- 
chines were invented for so combing wool fibers that in the 
spun thread all fibers lie parallel. This made possible the 
production of worsted goods, which in the last fifty years 
has leaped forward tremendously. Recent improvements in 
combing machinery make it possible to comb with small 
waste almost any length of wool. 

Combing has also been applied with success to cotton 
fibers, especially in making yarns for knit goods. For some 
time only sea-island and Egyptian cottons could be combed 
— that is, the longest stapled cottons — but recent inventions 
in combing machines take cotton staple as small as seven- 
eighths of an inch long. This length includes most common 
American upland cottons. There is, therefore, a big future 
for the textile trade in combed cotton goods, as well as in 
those of combed wools and other fibers. 

Weaving. — Weaving in some form or other has been 
practiced by all peoples and from the earliest recorded ages. 
Weaving consists essentially of an interlacing of two sets 
of threads or cords running in directions at right angles 
to each other. The threads running lengthwise of the cloth 
are known as the warp, and those running across the warp 
are called the woof, weft, or iilling. 

Ancient forms of weamng. — Simple weaving processes 
are used by even the lowest savage tribes, especially in mak- 
ing mats and baskets and in interlacing the bark and twigs 
for huts or tents. Almost as universal is the making of 
some kinds of cloth out of woven goods. For this, the 
simplest arrangement used by the ancients, a method still 
employed by savage peoples, was the fastening of the warp 
threads between two convenient objects on the ground, and 
then weaving the weft or filling threads back and forth 




A Pair of Hand Cards. 



24 



MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR PREPARATION 25 

through the warp threads in the same manner as in darning. 
This gave the simplest form of the loom. 




Throwing the Shuttle Through the Warp Shed by Hand. 



The heddie. — The first improvement was a device by 
which alternate warp threads could be drawn away from 
the rest so that the filling could be passed through rapidly. 
This device, called the "heddie," was in its commonest form 



26 TEXTILES 

a piece of wood the shape of a thin board and as long as 
the width of the cloth to be woven. In this board there 
were cut vertical slots several inches long at close intervals 
along the entire length of the board, and between each pair 
of slots at about the middle point, holes or ''eyes" were cut. 
Alternate warp threads were passed through the slots, one 
thread through each slot, and the intervening warp threads 
were passed in due order through the eyes, one thread 
through each eye. On raising or lowering the heddle the 
warp threads running through the eyes were raised or low- 
ered, while the warp threads running through the slots re- 
mained stationary. Thus part of the warp could be raised 
above or lowered below the rest of the warp and an open 
space made for rapidly passing through the filling or weft 
thread. 

The shuttle. — The filling thread was carried through the 
two layers of warp threads by means of a shuttle which 
was thrown by hand, the thread unwinding from the shuttle 
or bobbin within the shuttle as fast as it moved forward. 

The reed. — The filling threads were drawn up closely 
into place by means of a comb or ''batten," and later by 
an improvement known as the "reed." The ordinary loom 
to be found in most homes a hundred years ago consisted 
of a frame with a warp beam at one end upon which the 
warp threads were attached and wound, a cloth beam at the 
other end upon which the finished cloth was received and 
wound, two heddles so arranged as to be worked by foot 
treadles, a hollow shuttle containing the bobbin wound with 
filling thread and thrown by hand, and a reed to beat the 
filling thread up into place — all worked by hand. The part 
of the loom that raised and lowered the heddles was called 
the "harness." Though there have been great improvements 
in weaving and in the loom mechanism, the principle ap- 
plied in this old-time loom is the same as the principle 
underlying the modern loom. 



MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR PREPARATION 2^ 

Flying shuttle invented. — The first improvement in the 
direction of increasing weaving speed was an invention for 
throwing the shuttle through the warp by a mechanical 
device instead of by hand. This invention, called the flying 
shuttle, was made in 1738 by an Englishman named John 
Kay. A few years later this machine had entirely taken 
the place of the old hand-throwing looms in the textile 
districts of England. In 1760, Robert Kay, a son of the 
inventor of the flying shuttle, added a device to the loom 
to hold several shuttles, each with a thread of a different 
color. This made possible quick changes in weaving in 
colors. 

Improved looms. — During the same year, 1760, a new 
type of loom, known as the swivel loom, was introduced 
into England from Holland. On this loom it was possible 
to weave several narrow pieces of cloth, such as tape, rib- 
bons, etc., at the same time. Shortly afterward came the 
invention of a loom with several heddles and harnesses, 
making possible the weaving of figures in cloth. This sort 
of weaving was still further improved when M. Jacquard of 
Lyons, France, invented the Jacquard loom, in which the 
raising and lowering of the warp threads is controlled 
by a complicated set of perforated cards which are made 
for each particular design or figure to be woven. In this 
loom practically every thread is under control. 

Power weaving. — In 1785, an English preacher named 
Edmund Cartwright discovered the possibility of the ap- 
plication of power to the loom. Previous to this time all 
looms had been operated by hand. But the English pro- 
ducers looked askance at power looms long after they had 
adopted power spinning. It was not until 1820 that the 
hand looms began rapidly to make way for the steam-power 
looms. 

Recent improvements. — There have been many improve- 
ments in weaving since the beginning of the nineteenth 







Jacquard Loom. 
28 



MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR PREPARATION 29 

century, but they have been largely in increasing the speed, 
decreasing stoppage time, and making the looms automatic 
so that they will run with little or no attention, and stop the 
moment anything goes wrong. For example, the stops 
made to change the shuttles when the filling of the shuttle 
bobbins is used up have been made unnecessary. An Ameri- 
can weaver can now attend to from sixteen to twenty-four 
and even as high as twenty-eight high-grade automatic 
looms making twenty-seven- to thirty-six-inch wide cloth. 
When these modern looms are all supplied with their full 
quota of shuttles, the operator can leave them and go to 
dinner if he wishes, and the looms will run until some 
thread breaks, or until the filling in the shuttles has run 
out, and then they will stop instantly and automatically. 

England tried to prevent other countries from getting 
models of her many textile inventions during the early years 
of tlie nineteenth century. Yet the English machines were 
duplicated in America. The English claim that the Yankees 
pirated their ideas; while the Yankees claimed independent' 
discovery. At any rate, both spinning and weaving by 
power became known in this country before 1820. 

Recent noteworthy inventions in looms are the high-speed 
automatic ribbon looms, silk label weaving machines (since 
1903), and web looms for making suspender and garter 
webbing and shoe lacings. 

Knitting.— Knitting differs from weaving in that it em- 
ploys but one thread, or one set of threads, instead of two. 
Weaving machinery was invented before the modern looms 
but the vogue in knit goods is very recent, the people of 
this country using between three and four times as much 
per capita now as they did even twenty-five years ago. It 
is only within the last thirty years that knitting has changed 
from a home to a factory industry. 

Knitting machines. — The first knitting machine, so far 
as known, was invented in 1589 by William Lee of Not- 



30 TEXTILES 

tingham, England. Its use was forbidden, however, by 
Queen Elizabeth, because of the fear that it would destroy 
for many hand knitters the chances of making a living. 
It was not until 1816 that mechanical knitting was revived. 
At that time a circular knitting machine was invented and 
run by power. Yet knitting occupied only a small place 
in factory production for more than fifty years after that. 
Since 1870, however, the knitting industry has grown very 
rapidly in Germany, England, France, and the United 
States. All sorts of knit clothing are made for men, 
women, and children, and all varieties of yarns are utilized. 
The general character of the knitting machines of the pres- 
ent can be judged from the following kinds used in making 
simply the body part of a knit undershirt : flat, ribbed ; flat, 
plain; full-fashioned flat, ribbed; full-fashioned flat, plain; 
circular, ribbed; circular, plain. 

Then there are knitting machines for sleeves, wrists and 
ankles; and for hosiery, gloves, mittens, caps, leggings, and 
so on. Some knitting machines are made to produce a 
loose, elastic fabric, while others produce a hard, solid 
material. The former are known as spring-needle goods 
and the latter as latch-needle. Knitting has also been ap- 
plied in a number of new ways, such as lining for rubber 
fire hose and lawn sprinkling hose, table padding, etc. 

Dyeing and finishing. — The process of dyeing and finish- 
ing fabrics was greatly improved at about the same time 
that the great inventions were being made in the way of 
rapid and economical spinning and weaving of textile goods, 
during the last quarter of the eighteenth century and the 
first quarter of the nineteenth century. 

Discovery of cheap dyes. — The soda bleach was invented 
by French scientists and introduced into England shortly 
after 1780. Indigo, logwood, cochineal, cutch, and several 
other "natural" dyes had been used for a long time, but 
some of these were very expensive and difficult to apply. 



MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR PREPARATION 31 

In 1856 an English chemist, H. W. Perkin, accidentally 
discovered that he could make a beautiful mauve color from 
coal tar, a product of practically no value at the time. A 
little later a French chemist discovered a way of making 
magenta from the same substance. These were the begin- 
nings of one of the most wonderful scientific developments 
ever known, for now thousands of colors, shades, and tints 
are possible, all made from coal tar. 

Making dyes from coal tars as a business has grown to 
tremendous proportions, especially in Germany. Thousands 
of workmen and hundreds of highly educated chemists are 
employed, and the yearly product is worth millions of 
dollars. Of the great number of dyes produced from coal 
tar, some are of little value while others are exceedingly 
fast and serviceable for textile use. Some are easy to 
apply, others more difficult, but all are comparatively cheap. 
By exercising care in testing the materials and the dyes in 
advance, by utilizing the chemical knowledge of the present, 
and by giving the proper time and pains to the processes 
of dyeing, we can now color any textile satisfactorily with 
coal-tar dyes. As a result, they have almost entirely taken 
the place of the old vegetable or natural dyes. 

The Industrial Revolution. — The remarkable series of in- 
ventions which so rapidly revolutionized textile production 
was but one striking phase of that widespread "Industrial 
Revolution" which in both Europe and America, but more 
especially in England, characterized the period from 1760 
to 1830. Not only were the textile and other industries 
affected ; even more impressive was the change in home life 
and general social conditions. 

The household industry. — Previous to 1760, textile mak- 
ing was essentially a home industry ; that is, the entire work 
was done in the home of the worker, or, as he was then 
called, the manufacturer. The family was the unit of labor 
and the women and children were important assistants. All 



32 TEXTILES 

work was done by hand. The head of the house did his 
own purchasing and selling of the raw and finished prod- 
ucts. In the home the women spun the raw cotton, wool, 
or flax into yarn on the old-fashioned spinning wheels. 
One loom kept four or five spinning wheels busy. Often 
the family bleached and dyed the cloth and pressed it, or 
gave it whatever other simple finish was thought desirable. 
The family owned what it made, as well as the tools used 
in the making. There was comparatively little hiring for 
wages. Work, such as dyeing, done outside the home by 
some other family, was usually paid for with a share of the 
finished product. There were, to be sure, some wage work- 
ers, such as journeymen weavers, but the number was small 
as compared with the wage laborers under our present labor 
system. The most frequent break in the straight family 
unit was when boys were taken in from other families to 
learn the trade, to serve as apprentices; yet these appren- 
tices were usually treated as members of the family. After 
some years they became fully conversant with the trade 
and became journeymen wage earners. Later most of them 
set up establishments of their own, in many instances mar- 
rying the daughters of the masters whom they had served 
as apprentices. Thus the household system went on. 

Beginning of Factory System. — In 1771 water power was 
applied to the spinning wheel — a profitable innovation. 
Spinning factories sprang up along the water-power streams 
of Lancashire. Women in the homes began to lose their 
occupations at the old-time spinning wheel while the spin- 
ning factories began to employ both men and women to run 
the power spinning machines. Inevitably, then, the house 
industry system began to break down and the factory sys- 
tem of the present to rise. For the fifteen years during 
which water power was used, a number of towns sprang 
up near the waterfalls, whither people moved from their 
country homes to live near their jobs. 



MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR PREPARATION 33 

Movement to cities. — In 1785 Watt's steam engine was 
applied to spinning machinery. On account of its con- 
venience and the cheapness of the coal from the near-by 
mines, steam power grew in favor, until in many places 
the water-power plants were closed and the towns around 
them deserted for the big cities with their steam-power fac- 
tories. There was a large foreign as well as domestic de- 
mand for cloth, wages were considered good, and the so- 
called factory system became firmly established within a 
few years. 

Changes in methods of labor. — But what a change had 
been wrought in the methods of production! No longer 
could the laborer own the tools or machines with which he 
worked. He no longer had anything to say about the 
product. He was now employed at a daily or weekly wage. 
Instead of doing everything required to produce the finished 
goods, from buying the raw material to selling the com- 
pleted product, he did but one small subdivision of the 
work. A factory now had buying, producing, and selling 
departments, each with its own group of employees. In the 
producing department, this division of labor was carried to 
minute detail. With the introduction of automatic ma- 
chines, the workers were frequently set at some one task 
that called for but a single movement of the hands, re- 
peated thousands of times a day. Such division of labor, 
profitable from the manufacturer's standpoint, has been 
carried very far in modern plants. For example, in a 
modern tailor shop or clothing factory, the making of an 
ordinary coat requires about forty separate operations, that 
of a vest about eighteen, and that of the trousers twenty- 
eight. In making a corset in a modern factory there are 
some eighty-five or ninety separate processes ; in the making 
of an ordinary pair of men's shoes, over one hundred and 
forty-five. The tailor of today makes only one-fortieth of a 
coat instead of a whole suit of clothes. The shoemaker 



34 TEXTILES 

makes only one one-hundred- forty-fifth part of one kind of 
shoe instead of a whole pair of shoes as did the shoe- 
maker of the past. And the same thing has taken place in 
practically all other manufacturing occupations. This 
minute division of labor was one of the characteristic re- 
sults of the Industrial. Revolution. 

pig capital required. — Immense amounts of capital were 
brought together for running the modern factories. The 
corporation was developed as a suitable form of organiza- 
tion of this capital, and the markets of the world became 
responsive to the will of these great aggregations of capital 
instead of to the old-fashioned law of supply and demand 
under competitive conditions. 

Attempts to cheapen cost of production. — In the severe 
competition that arose at the beginning of the factory sys- 
tem, lasting in some industries down to the present day, the 
managers began to seek all sorts of devices to cheapen the 
cost of production. 

Adulterations. — They imitated and they adulterated, un- 
til a time came when cheapness seemed synonymous with 
nastiness. Pure-food legislation has been found necessary 
to keep greedy manufacturers from poisoning people by 
wholesale. There is now a strong movement for pure-fur 
laws and pure-textile laws. One state, Louisiana, has al- 
ready passed a law making it a crime to sell shoes of which 
any part is imitation leather, unless a statement to that 
effect is stamped on the shoe. Similar bills have been 
introduced in several other states. 

Cheap labor demanded. — Child labor has been profitable, 
since children can do much of the work in a textile mill 
that men and women had formerly done. In the early part 
of the nineteenth century children were sent to work twelve 
or fourteen hours at the cotton mills, when only five years 
old. The story of this period is in fact the darkest blot in 
textile history. The children were treated like slaves, han- 



MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR PREPARATION 35 

died in herds, poorly fed, poorly clothed, and overworked 
in unventilated factories. Great numbers died. The sur- 
vivors grew up uneducated and good for nothing, immoral 
and careless of every human custom and institution, a men- 
ace to society. More recently child-labor laws preventing 
such evils have been enacted in most countries, though not 
yet in some of our own states. 

Evils of city life. — Ojther evils grew out of the factory 
system before people began to know how to meet them. 
Most of the people in the early factories came from country 
homes in which textiles had formerly been made. These old 
homes were broken up, their members scattered to the four 
winds. Only those too old or too young to work remained 
behind, and the children were soon ready to be sent to the 
cities to work. These people knew nothing of crowded city 
life. It was a far cry from the country home, its vegetable 
patch, the flower garden, the chickens, sheep, and cattle, to 
the crowded, many-storied tenement with high rents, and 
little sunlight or fresh air. The change was ruinous to 
health and character ; the result was a more frenzied con- 
centration on the one thing, to make money. Distrust and 
other unsocial feelings became frequent, and the struggle 
between capital and labor inevitable. 

Such were the conditions of living in the textile industry, 
and they deteriorated rapidly. Health, strength, and 
morals suffered. The second generation became weaker 
than the first. Intemperance and vice grew frightfully. It 
looked for years as if civilization were headed towards 
anarchy or destruction. 

Government regulation. — Governments have now recog- 
nized new functions in their relation to industry, and have 
established laws regarding sanitation, ventilation, and light- 
ing in factories and in tenements. Hours of labor have 
been shortened for women and children. Compulsory edu- 
cation has been demanded. Dangerous machinery must be 



36 TEXTILES 

so guarded as to prevent accidents. The problems of health 
and morals are beginning to be considered as communit}^ 
problems instead of individual matters as they were before 
the days of the Industrial Revolution. 

General results of the Industrial Revolution. — The In- 
dustrial Revolution brought changes that have benefited 
humanity. It made it possible for the masses of the people 
to be comfortably clothed and fed. It multiplied the pro- 
ducing efficiency of the individual. Machinery now does 
the drudgery formerly done by hand. None the less the 
Revolution brought evils too — needless ones, to be sure, but 
not yet wholly eradicated. People did not know how to 
prevent them; they did not even know of their existence 
until many lives had been sacrificed and much misery 
caused. Invention of machinery and of improved mechan- 
ical processes so rapidly changed production that people 
were not able to make the necessary social changes fast 
enough to keep pace with the industrial development. 

Early attitude towards machines. — One of the most in- 
teresting phases of the Industrial Revolution was the an- 
tagonism of the workers themselves towards the great im- 
provements in the machinery. It has already been noted 
that in 1589 the inventor of the knitting machine was for- 
bidden to use it. The feeling was then common in all 
Europe that labor-saving machinery would do more harm 
than good. For example, a ribbon loom that would weave 
four to six pieces at one time was invented in 1529 by a 
German in Danzig. History reports that the inventor was 
secretly drowned at the command of the mayor of the city. 

In 1630 or thereabouts, a similar labor-saving loom ap- 
peared in the city of Leyden, Holland. The weavers of the 
city rose in a riot, and the town council burned the new 
devices in the public square. Many other towns had similar 
experiences both on the continent and in England. At one 
time the German emperor forbade the use of automatic 



MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR PREPARATION zy 

devices on looms, and not until 1765 did weavers dare to 
use them openly in Saxony. Hargreaves' first spinning 
jenny was smashed by his neighbors. A machine for dress- 
ing wool was invented in 1758, and as soon as the workmen 
near-by discovered its purpose, they came in and burned it. 
Hundreds of attacks like these followed in England. In 
1810 there was an insurrection led by an idiot named Ned 
Lud, so the histories state. His followers, called Luddites, 
marched from factory to factory, and from town to town, 
and smashed and burned every form of modern machinery 
that they could find. This great disturbance was finally 
suppressed by the government but only after considerable 
bloodshed. The workmen instinctively felt that the ma- 
chine was taking away their work, thereby depriving them 
of the means of getting a living. In a measure this was 
true. Thousands of men, often skilled workers, found 
themselves out' of a job when a machine was invented that 
could do what they had done. Often the new machines 
required only a small boy or girl to tend them. It took 
time to find and master other kinds of work. On the other 
hand, to the human race as a whole, the machines were a 
great blessing, cheapening the necessities of life, and mak- 
ing it possible for even the poorest workman and his family 
to have goods which until then only the rich man and the 
noble could possess. 



CHAPTER IV 
COTTON PRODUCTION 

The cotton fiber. — The cotton fiber comes from the seeds 
of the cotton plant. It varies in length, from one-half inch 
up to two and one-half or even three inches, according to 
the variety and to the conditions under which it is raised. 
The great volume of cotton in the world's markets averages 
about an inch in length. When examined under a powerful 
microscope, a single fiber appears to be flat h'ke a ribbon 
with a ridge at each side, but instead of lying flat like a 
ribbon the fiber is twisted many times so that it looks like 
a spiral. This twist in the fiber, together with the ridges 
at the edges, helps materially in spinning the fibers into a 
thread, for the fibers are entangled in each other's spirals, 
and this makes the thread hard to pull apart without break- 
ing. 

Composition of cotton. — Chemists tell us that the cotton 
fiber is composed of a substance called cellulose. This sub- 
stance is found in all plants. All vegetable fibers such as 
Hnen, hemp, jute, and so on are principally composed of 
cellulose. It is the most important part of wood and straw 
and, therefore, of paper. The pulp of cornstalks and the 
fibrous parts of leaves are mainly cellulose. In this sub- 
stance a chemist can point out a number of well-defined 
qualities found in neither wool nor silk ; therefore from 
the science of chemistry we can learn tests to determine 
whether or not a fabric has cellulose in its construction, 
and distinguish it definitely from wool and silk. But to tell 

38 




Cotton plant, showing height. 




Cotton bolls. 



COTTON PRODUCTION 39 

whether the cellulose in the fibers under examination comes 
from the cotton plant or from some other plant requires an 
entirely different test. 

Cotton belongs to mallow family. — The cotton plant is a 
member of a big family, the mallows. It is related to the 
garden hollyhock. The cotton blossom closely resembles 
that of the hollyhock. The technical name of cotton is 
gossypium. 

Numbers of species. — There are several species of cotton 
plants. Some authorities claim there are as many as twenty- 
eight; others distinguish only four distinct species, each 
showing slight variations. There are in all about two 
hundred varieties of cotton grown for the fiber, but it seems 
fairly certain that they are all members of one or another 
of the four great species of cotton. 

Names of cotton species. — These four kinds of cotton 
are : herb cotton, called by botanists gossypium herhaceum; 
shrub cotton, called gossypium hirsutum; tree cotton, gos- 
sypium arboreum; and lintless cotton, called gossypium bar- 
badense. 

The names of the cotton plants suggest their varying 
heights. The gossypium herbaceum or herb cotton grows 
to a height of from two to four feet. The gossypium hirsu- 
tum grows to a height of about six feet, and is the common- 
est species, comprising most of the so-called upland cottons 
raised in the United States. The gossypium arboreum 
grows to a height of from fifteen to twenty feet. The 
gossypium barbadense dififers from the other cottons in that 
its seeds are not covered with the little hairs or lint found 
on other cotton seeds, especially upland varieties. Its fibers 
are longer than those of the other species, and are therefore 
more valuable. The sea-island cottons of the United States 
are the best examples of this species. 

Conditions favoring growth. — The cotton plant can be 
grown only in a warm climate. It takes at least a six-month 



40 TEXTILES 

summer for the seed to become a plant and for the plant to 
produce a crop of cotton. The cotton plant is a perennial; 
that is, it continues to live for several years like most shrubs 
and trees ; but it is easily killed by even the lightest frosts. 
In every cold cotton country, therefore, new seed must be 
planted every year. Even in tropical regions, a better crop 
is produced by such annual replanting than by allowing the 
old plants to grow and produce crops year after year. 

Where produced. — The principal cotton-producing coun- 
tries in the world are the United States, India, and Egypt. 
The United States alone produces about six-tenths of all 
the cotton in the world. India produces about two-tenths, 
and Egypt, one-tenth. Several other countries, such as 
Peru, Brazil, China, Japan, Arabia, Persia, Russia, West 
Africa, Algiers, West Indies, and Mexico, produce a small 
amount each, making up the remaining tenth of the world's 
supply. 

India, China, and other Asiatic countries produce the 
herb species of cotton, gossypium herbaceum. The shrub 
species, gossypium hirsutum, is, as has already been stated, 
the common American cotton. It is also grown in the 
West Indies and Mexico. The tree cotton, gossypium ar- 
horeum, grows in India, China, Arabia, and some other 
Asiatic countries. Very little cotton enters into the world's 
commerce from this species. The gossypium harhadense is 
raised in the West Indies and on the islands and lowlands 
near the coast of the South Atlantic and Gulf states. This 
species, ordinarily called sea-island cotton, has been trans- 
planted to various parts of the world, as, for example, 
Egypt, Australia, and the Fiji Islands; its cultivation has 
also been tried with some success on the uplands of the 
southern states and in the irrigated regions of the South- 
west. 

The South American cottons, generally called Brazilian 
and Peruvian cottons, are considered to be varieties of the 



COTTON PRODUCTION 41 

gossypmm hirsutum. The fibers differ widely in the many 
varieties of this species, and serve quite different uses in 
textile manufacture. Peruvian cotton is, in general, harsher 
and stronger than Brazilian cotton. It is so much like wool 
that it is often used to mix with wool. 

General qualities of the principal kinds of cotton. — The 
principal qualities that make cotton fiber valuable are its 
length, strength, fineness, and color. Other qualities are 
considered in the market, such as pliability, regularity, 
smoothness, and cleanliness, but those first named are most 
important. 

Sea-island cotton. — Sea-island cotton is by far the best. 
Its fibers average from one and one-half to two and one- 
half inches long. It is silky in appearance and of fine color. 
This fiber is, therefore, used in making the finest cotton 
goods, such as sewing thread, lace, gauze, fine muslins, silk 
mixtures, and silk imitations. 

Egyptian cotton. — Egyptian cotton, especially of the 
transplanted sea-island variety, comes next in these quali- 
ties. Its fiber averages from one and one-fourth to one and 
one-half inches in length, and its color ranges from white 
and glossy light to yellow. It also is used in making spool 
cotton, silk imitations, and the finer fabrics. Great quanti- 
ties are imported into this country every year, and are 
combed and spun into yarns for fancy cotton knit goods, 
such as the better grades of underwear and hosiery. 

Peruvian cotton. — Peruvian and Brazilian cottons have a 
fiber almost as long as Egyptian cotton, but they differ in 
several other qualities. Peruvian cotton has a harsh and 
wiry fiber. It looks and feels more like wool than any 
other cotton ; hence it is used very generally in the manufac- 
ture of wool mixtures, especially where it is desired to 
preserve an "all wool" appearance. Brazilian cotton is simi- 
lar, although rather less harsh and woolly. 

Upland cotton. — The American upland cottons come next 



42 TEXTILES 

in the scale. The fibers run from three-fourths to one and 
one- fourth inches in length, depending upon the variety, 
the kind of soil upon which the plant is raised, and the care 
given to production by the cotton farmer. Poor soil and 
poor cultivation produce a short fiber. The upland cottons 
furnish most of the supply for the great staple lines of cot- 
ton goods, such as ginghams, calicoes, sheetings, shirtings, 
and so on. 

India cotton. — The India cottons rank somewhat lower 
than the American upland in length, strength, and other 
qualities. They are therefore used in making still coarser 
cloth yarns than the American cottons, as, for example, 
coarse sheetings, shirtings, denims, and drills. 

Variations in grade. — It should be understood that there 
are several varieties of cotton produced in all of the cotton- 
raising countries, and that there are great differences in 
soil, climate, and methods of cultivation that make differ- 
ences in the fiber. Although we have spoken of sea-island 
cotton as the best, a certain part of even this kind of cotton 
that comes to the great cotton markets of the world sells for 
less than good American upland cotton, when, as sometimes 
happens, the former is of poor quality, or in damaged con- 
dition. Egyptian cotton is, next to sea-island, the finest 
cotton in the world, but some cotton from Egypt, especially 
from the upper part of the Nile Valley, is no better than 
the India cottons. The fancy Egyptian cottons come from 
the lower Nile where the soil is very rich, because the 
annual overflow of the river and the irrigating systems keep 
the soil in the best possible condition. Outside of this well- 
watered region, Egypt raises some cotton, but not of the 
best grades. India produces more than a score of varieties 
of cotton, some of which are very poor. Most of them, 
however, average just a little below that of the American 
uplands, while a few are as good as the Egyptian. Ameri- 
can cottons vary greatly. What are known as the Peeler, 



COTTON PRODUCTION 43 

Allanseed, Georgia, and Orleans cotton varieties rank con- 
siderably higher than Texas or Mobile cotton. 

Improving the cotton. — The introduction of better meth- 
ods of agriculture in cotton-growing areas is everywhere 
improving the quality of the fiber as well as the quantity 
of the yield. There is probably no reason other than the 
ignorance of the Hindu cotton farmers that prevents them 
from raising as good cotton as do our American farmers. 
It is noteworthy, too, that American cotton production is 
leaping forward rapidly wherever agriculture is being made 
scientific. 

One method of improving the yield of cotton in a given 
area is the introducing of, and experimenting with, varieties 
of cotton from other lands. For example, sea-island cotton 
has been tried on Georgia uplands with considerable success. 
It has also been introduced into Egypt, Australia, Brazil, 
and elsewhere. Although sea-island cotton does not pro- 
duce fiber two inches long on Georgia uplands, it neverthe- 
less produces a better grade of cotton than the common up- 
land cotton. Egyptian cotton, when brought to the United 
States, has been found satisfactory in certain southern low- 
land areas, also in irrigated regions in Arizona. The result 
of all this experimenting will finally be that each kind of 
cotton will be grown in the parts of the world where it can 
grow best, and where it will produce the most valuable 
fiber. 

Cotton culture. — The cotton plant likes a good soil, deep, 
rather loose, medium grades of loam seeming the most satis- 
factory. It requires much moisture, but the soil must not be 
wet or mucky ; hence it does best only when the land is well 
drained and has frequent rainfall, especially during the 
growing season. It rarely flourishes in a very windy sec- 
tion. Warm, balmy breezes, plenty of rainfall, good rich 
soil — these are the chief requisites. 

Soil exploitation. — Cotton is hard on the soil. Several 



44 TEXTILES 

thousands of acres formerly under cultivation in the South 
have been abandoned because of impoverishment of the 
soil. Much of this has been due to poor methods of farm- 
ing and to failure to return to the soil the elements taken 
out by the cotton. It has been discovered that the cotton 
fiber takes very little plant food, but the cottonseeds draw 
heavily from the soil. In view of this fact, cottonseeds, 
and especially cottonseed hulls, are often used as fertilizers 
on land used for cotton growing. 

Methods of planting. — In the southern states cotton is 
planted in March or thereabouts. The ground is prepared 
by plowing and harrowing, and then the seeds are sown in 
rows four feet apart. When the seeds have sprouted, 
laborers go down the rows thinning out the young plants 
so that the remainder stand about eight to fourteen inches 
apart. After this begins the cultivation, which somewhat 
resembles that given to corn. In days before the Civil War 
(1861-1865), and for some time following, all labor about 
the cotton field, such as planting and cultivating, was done 
by hand by negroes. On the larger modern farms every- 
thing is done by machine, save thinning out the plants, which 
is still done with a hoe. 

Cotton losses on farms. — Cotton grows most rapidly dur- 
ing the months of June and July. The plants blossom and 
then begin to grow the bolls that contain the seed and the 
fiber. Each plant has several of these bolls, in fact many 
more than ever ripen and can be collected. Only about a 
quarter or a third actually ripen; hence there is a tremen- 
dous waste of nature's energy in producing a cotton crop. 

The cotton boll weevil. — There are other great losses- to 
which the cotton crop is subject, such as from plant diseases 
and destruction by insects. It is estimated that there is an 
annual loss of more than $40,000,000 per year due to one 
insect alone, known as the cotton boll weevil. This insect 
attacks the cotton bolls before they are ripe, destroying the 



COTTON PRODUCTION 45 

fiber. The ravages of this pest are widespread in the South, 
and the area affected seems to be growing. The cotton boll 
weevil originally came from Mexico over the Rio Grande 
River into Texas. It slowly spread throughout Texas and 
then into Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, afterward cross- 
ing the Mississippi into the eastern cotton states. During 
the last few years, the agricultural colleges of the South 
and the United States Department of Agriculture have 
made every effort to discover some means of killing off 
the weevil. Poisons have been tried with no success. One 
of the best plans so far hit upon has been the importation 
from Mexico of other insects and ants that were found to 
be enemies of the cotton boll weevil. Birds that eat the pest 
have been protected. The farmers are being taught to plant 
their cotton earlier so as to get the cotton bolls along so far 
as to be beyond the injury of the weevil before the season 
when the insect does the worst damage. Hardy varieties 
of cotton have been bred, and the cotton crop has been 
considerably increased by scientific methods of farming, 
even in the worst infested districts. 

Strange as it seems, therefore, the cotton boll weevil has 
had much to do with improving methods of farming 
and making the farmers more intelligent. Before the trou- 
ble with this insect began, cotton raising was carried on in 
careless fashion. Agricultural education was not thought 
of. Farmers would not attend the farmers' institutes nor 
would they read agricultural papers. But when the weevil 
began to destroy their crops year after year, threatening to 
starve the people out of the country, there developed a 
strong interest in what schools and experiment stations had 
to say about farming. 

Cotton picking. — The cotton bolls begin to ripen about 
the latter part of August and then the picking begins. The 
bolls do not all ripen at the same time, not even on the 
same plant. Those on the under sides and nearest the bot- 



46 TEXTILES 

torn are first ready for picking. Because of the irregularity 
with which the cotton bolls open, it has been difficult to 
invent a cotton-picking machine. Although there are sev- 
eral types of machines in experimental stages advocated as 
offering success, the South still picks the greatest part of 
the crop by hand. The cotton-picking season lasts from 
August to December, or about one hundred days. Each 
field is gone over at least three times. The pickers are for 
the most part negroes, men, women, and children, many of 
them coming out of the cities just for the season, thus to 
earn a better, though brief, wage. Employers of labor — 
factory hands, day laborers, waiters, waitresses, cooks, kit- 
chen girls, and household help of all kinds — state that when 
the annual cotton-picking season comes around it is very 
difficult to keep their help. There is a rush for the cotton 
fields, followed by a return to the cities at the end of the 
season. 

The pay of the cotton pickers is from forty-five to fifty 
cents a hundred pounds. Many pick no more than this 
amount in a day; yet good pickers average about three 
hundred or even more pounds a day. 

The cotton fibers and seeds are pulled out of each boll 
and dropped into a sack that the picker carries suspended 
from his shoulder. Whenever the sack is full, the picker 
empties it into a large basket set apart, and then returns 
to his row. When the day's work is over, the picker's 
baskets are weighed and the amount marked down to his 
credit by the farm manager. 

Hauled to the gin. — After the cotton has stood in the 
baskets or has been laid in the sunshine awhile to allow it 
to dry out, it is loaded into a wagon and hauled from the 
field to the cotton ginnery. This is the place where the 
seeds and fibers are separated and the fibers compressed 
into bales. If his farm is large, the farmer may own his 
own gin; the majority, however, haul their cotton to gin- 



COTTON PRODUCTION 47 

neries whose owners charge a certain toll for ginning the 
cotton and baling it. The latest statistics show that each 
ginnery in the South serves on the average about thirty, 
farmers. 

The cotton gin. — The cotton gin is a machine that pulls 
the fibers from the seeds to which they are attached. It was 
devised in 1792 by an American, Eli Whitney. Previously, 
the fibers were pulled by hand, and no one could clean more 
than half a dozen pounds of cotton a week. The modern 
gin can handle 5,000 pounds a day. The wonderful develop- 
ment of the cotton industry would not have been possible 
without this invention, nor is it likely that without it Amer- 
ica would have become a great cotton-producing country. 
But the gin made cotton king ; by its means Southern slavery 
became profitable, and Lancashire, England, almost at a 
bound, took first place in the world's cotton manufacturing. 
Simple inventions sometimes have tremendous significance 
in social and economic life; the cotton gin is a most note- 
worthy instance of this truth. 

Cotton lint and seed. — At this point the story of cotton 
divides, as we trace first the course of the cottonseed and 
then that of the fiber. Although in this study we are not 
primarily interested in the utilization of cottonseed, it is 
of interest to glance at this product and its uses. 

Cottonseed products. — It has already been said that the 
cottonseeds, or parts of them, are used for fertilizing the 
cotton-growing fields. But only within recent years has 
this been done. Forty years ago cottonseed was, to the 
minds of the cotton grower and the ginnery operator, a 
nuisance that must in some way be got rid of. People used 
to throw this by-product into the rivers. Unfortunately the 
seed disagreed with the fish ; wherefore the inhabitants 
farther down the streams began to complain of dead fish 
and the decaying cottonseed in the water. Thereupon the 
cotton men tried to burn the "waste product," but it would 



48 TEXTILES 

not burn well. And if they merely left the pile out in the 
open air, in the course of time decay would set in and 
cause an unpleasant odor. 

But modern progress lets few problems of waste prod- 
ucts be unsolved; finally it was discovered that cottonseed 
contains a rich oil that can be utilized in a number of ways. 
Cottonseed has ceased to be a nuisance ; every part Jias a 
definite value. The seed is now hauled from the ginnery 
and sold to the producers of cottonseed oil, who first strip 
off all the little fine hairs that the gin did not get. These 
*'linters" are used in making cotton batting, wadding, felt, 
and also coarse yarns. Next the lintless seeds have their 
outside portions, the hulls, stripped off by machinery es- 
pecially constructed for that purpose. Much of this ma- 
terial is used in paper making. Some of it is used as fuel 
in running the engines in the cottonseed oil factories, the 
ashes being afterwards used as fertiHzers. Some of the 
hulls are ground into cattle food, and are often mixed with 
wheat bran. A secondary product is thus derivable — ma- 
nure from cattle fed with this food, which is of high value 
to the cotton farms. Finally the cottonseeds, stripped of 
lint and hulls, are put in a heavy compress and all of the 
oil pressed out. What is left is known as cottonseed oil 
cake, or "oil cake" for short. Oil cake is ground fine and 
used both as cattle feed and as a cotton-field fertilizer. As 
a cattle food it is sought after, especially by farmers who 
have made farming a science. Great quantities of oil cake 
are shipped annually to European countries, especially to 
those noted for dairying, such as Denmark and Holland. 

Cottonseed oil. — The oil pressed out of the cottonseeds is 
purified and made into salad oils. Mixed with beef fat it 
makes a cooking compound called by various names. Mixed 
with kerosene it makes miner's lamp oil. It is also com- 
bined with various soap alkalies in making toilet and laun- 
dry soaps. 



COTTON PRODUCTION 49 

Cottonseed oil as food. — Cottonseed oil is rapidly becom- 
ing a staple food product. Cooking fats containing cotton- 
seed oil are increasingly used. Before the pure-food law 
was passed by the United States Congress, cottonseed oil 
almost supplanted olive oil in this country, boldly assuming 
the title of "olive oil." Such imitation with intent to de- 
ceive is now, of course, illegal. Cottonseed oil is rapidly 
coming into use upon its own merits as a cheap and nutri- 
tious food. It is interesting to note that its use is rapidly 
spreading in the olive oil producing countries, Italy, Spain, 
France, Greece, Turkey, and Asia Minor. Olive oil, a staple 
food among the people of these nations from time im- 
memorial, is being replaced among the poorer classes by 
the cottonseed product. In some of the countries, no laws 
have yet been passed preventing dealers from calling it 
olive oil; hence it is often sold and bought, unsuspected, 
under the false name. 

The cotton bale. — We have seen how the cotton fibers are 
separated from the seeds and baled at the ginnery. A hun- 
dred pounds of cotton from the fields yields about sixty-six 
pounds of seed and only about thirty-four pounds of fibers, 
or lint. About 500 pounds of lint are compressed into each 
bale. The amount varies from 300 to 900 pounds, but the 
average is not far from 500 pounds. The standard Ameri- 
can bale measures fifty-four inches high, twenty-seven 
inches wide, and twenty-seven inches deep. The Egyptians 
put their cotton up in bales weighing 700 pounds. The East 
India bale weighs about 400 pounds, while that of South 
America averages some 250 pounds. 

The bale is usually rectangular. There is another kind 
of bale, known as the Bessonette bale, shaped like a cylinder 
or barrel ; this is said to be rapidly coming into use because 
of certain advantages it has over the angular bale in ship- 
ping and handling. It occupies less room, since it is more 
tightly compressed, but some cotton spinners object to it 



50 TEXTILES 

because they claim the fiber is damaged by the heavy 
pressure. 

In the baling press the cotton bale is covered with jute 
or other coarse cloth bagging and then bound with sheet- 
iron bands. This covering keeps the cotton clean while it is 
handled and shipped. 

Poor hales from America. — American growers have been 
frequently accused of carelessness in baling cotton. Such 
coarse, poor bagging has been used that it has often been 
torn to pieces before the cotton reached the manufacturers ; 
consequently the cotton lint has been soiled and spoiled. 
English spinners have been the loudest complainers, claim- 
ing that of all cotton imported, that from America came to 
them in the worst condition. Very little was done to cor- 
rect this evil until 1906. During the cotton season of that 
year, the Lancashire Cotton Manufacturers' Association 
sent a commission from England to study and report upon 
the American methods of handling, baling, and shipping. 
The members of this commission traveled over a large part 
of the cotton belt in the South, attracting considerable atten- 
tion among American cotton farmers. They finally made 
numerous recommendations for improving the handling of 
the cotton, suggestions which the cotton growers are now 
beginning to follow with profit. But much of the per- 
manent bettering of cotton production, including the han- 
dling of the cotton, is due largely to the constant agitation 
and education of the farmers by the agricultural colleges, 
the farmers' institutes, and the publications of the United 
States Department of Agriculture. These forces have 
brought such results as the doubling of the cotton crop on 
a given area, as well as improving the quality. 




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CHAPTER V 

COTTON MARKETING 

The first exchange. — After the cotton has been baled, it 
is ready for the market. The cotton farmer of the South 
may sell to some local storekeeper who makes a business 
of buying cotton, to some local cotton buyer or factory, to 
some cotton dealer located in a large cotton concentration 
point, to traveling buyers sent out by cotton merchants or 
manufacturers f roqi the large cities, or he may perhaps sell 
direct to the cotton spinning mill if it is conveniently near 
so that he can make arrangements for transportation. In 
any case the farmer hauls the cotton bales to town and who- 
ever buys the cotton grades it by examination of the bales 
and fixes the conditions of the first exchange. 

The cotton farmer and his storekeeper. — The Southern 
cotton farmer has been in the past and is yet, to a very large 
extent, in a peculiar position. The majority of both the 
white and colored farmers are very poor and hardly ever 
have enough money ahead to supply all their needs during 
the months before the cotton is ready, for market. Hence 
the cotton farmer often needs a considerable amount of 
credit extended to him by someone. These necessary ad- 
vances are usually made by some local storekeeper who 
agrees to grant the credit on condition that the cotton be 
turned over to him in the fall. The advances consist largely 
of groceries and clothing for the cotton farmer's family, a 
few tools, and enough cash to pay the pickers and ginners. 
During the summer this debt to the storekeeper rolls up. 

51 



52 TEXTILES 

When the cotton is finally hauled in, the merchant takes it, 
grades it, and pays for it; any difference that may then 
exist between the value of the cotton at the storekeeper's 
price and the cotton farmer's debt is squared by a cash pay- 
ment to the farmer. When the cotton crop does not equal 
in value the amount of the debt, the farmer simply ties him- 
self up to the storekeeper for another year, hoping to get a 
crop the next season which will more than make up for 
the current loss. In this way it sometimes happens that 
cotton farmers are virtually tied to a storekeeper for years 
at a time. Many evils characterize this system. The store- 
keeper frequently loses part of the amount due him, while 
the cotton farmers sometimes feel that they are both over- 
charged for the goods they purchase and underpaid for the 
cotton they bring in. 

At many points the system just described is breaking 
down. Recent advances in agriculture and interest in better 
methods of marketing have caused many of the southern 
cotton farmers to free themselves from the local store- 
keepers by supplying their own funds through savings. In 
many cases when loans are necessary, they are made by 
cotton merchants or factors; occasionally by cooperative 
associations of the farmers themselves. 

Tenancy. — Many cotton farmers in the South do not own 
their farms, and must rent from some large landholder. 
The plantations before the Civil War often contained hun- 
dreds of acres cultivated by slaves. Since the war these 
plantations have in many cases remained under the same 
ownership, while tiie management has been left to tenants 
who take a few acres each. Some of these tenants raise 
cotton on shares, while others pay so much an acre for the 
annual use of the land. Often the plantation owner extends 
credit to stake the cotton farmer during the growing sea- 
son, thus making the tenant responsible to him rather than 
to the local storekeeper or other person. At the end of the 



COTTON MARKETING 53 

season the cotton is turned over to the owner of the planta- 
tion; he pays the farmer any surplus over the charges for 
rent and expenses. 

The tenant system of the South has not proved suc- 
cessful in developing a better type of agriculture. Where 
the tenant system is strongest, the methods of cultiva- 
tion are as simple and knowledge of scientific agricul- 
ture as meager as before the Civil War. Recently, how- 
ever, things have been improving in many regions. The 
larger plantations have begun to be divided, enabling the 
tenant to buy his own farm. With ownership has come 
a desire to get better results and a consequent greater in- 
terest in the newer ideas of scientific cotton farming. As 
a result, the future of cotton farming in the South looks 
promising for the small farmer. 



COTTON GRADING 

Whether the farmer sells to a storekeeper or to some 
other cotton buyer, the sale is not simply a transfer of so 
much cotton at so much a pound. Before the buyer invests 
he must know what quality of cotton he is getting; hence 
the cotton must be graded. 

Grading cotton is of the utmost importance in both mar- 
keting and manufacturing. The buyer's usual method is to 
cut a slit through the bale wrappings and pull out a handful 
of the lint, upon which judgment will be passed. Sometimes 
samples of the lint are taken from two sides of the bale. 
These samples are carefully examined by sight, touch, and 
smell. The length and consistency of fiber are noted; the 
coarseness or fineness of the fiber is considered, and also its 
breaking strength. Since the cotton is bought and sold by 
the pound, it is necessary to determine if it contains sub- 
stances which unduly increase the weight, such as dirt, 



54 TEXTILES 

leaves, or undue moisture. Some moisture is always found 
in cotton fibers, but the amount should not average more 
than two or three per cent, of the total weight. If there is 
more moisture than this, the cotton sells for less. Both dead 
and unripe fibers are objectionable and lower the grade. 
Fibers damaged by frost or by insects are also of poor 
value. Finally the buyer considers the color and luster of 
the fiber. Upon the basis of all of these considerations, 
the grade of the cotton is determined. The bales are 
weighed; a certain percentage of the total weight, usually 
four per cent., is taken off for coverings and dirt ; then the 
farmer is paid for the net amount of cotton. The usual 
test for moisture is simply by feeling. Any mildew is de- 
tected by its odor. 

Chance in grading. — Cotton grading is more or less im- 
perfect, and there is considerable play of chance in grading 
a bale. One bale of cotton contains the fiber from say two 
and one-half acres of land. Almost certainly there are 
great variations in the cotton, due to differences in the land. 
If the sample comes out of the best cotton, the bale brings 
a higher price than if the sample happens to be of the poorer 
cotton therein. A good many mistakes are possible in grad- 
ing cotton. Any two graders, even if expert, seldom grade 
cotton alike, and it is by no means certain that the same 
grader could twice grade the same cotton in exactly the 
same way. The difiiculty is often complicated by incom- 
petence and sometimes by dishonesty. 

The standard grades. — After the length and the strength 
have been established, the degrees of color, luster, and clean- 
liness give rise to thirteen distinct grades generally recog- 
nized in all cotton markets in this country. These from 
highest to lowest are as follows : 

1. Fair 3. Middling fair 

2. Strict middling fair 4. Strict good middling 



COTTON MARKETING 55 

5. Good middling 10. Strict good ordinary 

6. Strict middling 11. Good ordinary 

7. Middling 12. Strict ordinary 

8. Strict low middling 13. Ordinary 

9. Low middling 

Of the grades in the above list, those designated as "strict" 
are commonly spoken of in the trade as "half-grades." 
Some cotton markets, notably New York, formerly recog- 
nized quarter grades also. These were found impracticable 
after several years of trial. On January i, 1908, the New 
York Cotton Exchange adopted the gradings named 
above. 

Any discoloration in the cotton is noted in the grade by 
using the words "tinged" and "stained" ; for instance, "strict 
good middling tinged," "good ordinary tinged," or "low 
middling stained." Tinged cotton is only moderately dis- 
colored; stained cotton may range anywhere from a light 
yellow to a deep red or, as it is called in the trade, "foxy" 
color. 

The basis grade in all markets is "middling" white cot- 
ton. This grade is the universal standard by which the 
quality of all other grades is measured. It is a, fleecy cot- 
ton, very nearly white in color, and containing only a 
small amount of foreign matter. "Fair" cotton, the highest 
grade recognized, is a very bright, white, clean cotton. The 
other grades down to "ordinary" contain an increasing 
amount of foreign matter, and the lowest grades usually are 
somewhat dingy. Below "low ordinary" are some miscella- 
neous classes of cotton for which there are no recognized 
grades and which are of poor value. 

Every cotton crop is more or less distinctive in character. 
Thus, one crop may be very bright and white, another may 
be of a creamy character, another dingy. On this account 
one often meets the expression that cotton is of "good 



56 TEXTILES 

color," meaning that while it may not be strictly white it is 
not discolored by being tinged, spotted, or stained. 

Method of grading in cotton-exchange towns. — Grading 
is a simple, crude process in the little local markets where 
the farmers sell. The buyer does hardly more, as has been 
stated, than pull out a sample from each bale, examine it, 
examine the bale itself whenever the lint shows through 
its wrappings to see that the cotton runs about the same, 
estimate the grade, and then offer his price. Frequently the 
buyer may be wrong in his grading by as much as two of 
three grades according to the standard of the expert grader 
of the big markets^ In the big markets grading is done by 
one who makes this his sole business. He usually works 
under the authority of the city or the cotton exchange. 
The method followed is somewhat as follows : Samples 
are taken from the bales, and wrapped in paper with a blue 
lining because the blue gives cotton a good appearance. 
They are then taken to a testing room, opened, and allowed 
to stand for twenty-four hours. After this time the fibers 
are dried thoroughly — an important matter, for drying not 
only makes the cotton look better, but also displays more 
clearly any sand and dirt that may be mixed with it, 
for sand or dirt naturally falls into the paper when the 
lint is thoroughly dry. For the first reason, the sellers are 
glad to have the cotton dried ; for the second reason, the 
buyers demand thorough drying. Next, in a good north 
light the samples are examined and graded, as many as 
thr-ee or four thousand in a forenoon by a single person. 
Proper notations are entered on each sample, which is then 
taken back to the bale from which it came. These nota- 
tions of grade are marked on the bale, whereupon the cotton 
is ready for the buyers. 

Value of the different grades. — The comparative value 
of the various grades varies with the supply and with the 
demand for specific grades by cotton manufacturers. To 



COTTON MARKETING 57 

illustrate the price variations, it may be stated that "low 
ordinary" cotton ranges from four to six cents less than 
^'middling" ; the other grades run accordingly. 

English grades. — The greatest cotton market in the world 
is the Liverpool market in England. The same grades are 
employed there as in New York for American cottons, but 
it is said that the grading is done less closely than in this 
country. Liverpool receives large supplies of cotton from 
India. This is all classed in four grades : ''fair," ''good 
fair," "good," and "fine." Egyptian cotton is graded as 
"fair," "good," and "fair and good." Brazilian cotton has 
three grades : "middling fair," "fair," and "good fair." 



MIDDLEMEN'S EXCHANGES OF COTTON 

The local merchant or dealer who buys the cotton from 
the farmer ships it to the larger cotton markets and sells 
either to cotton spinning mills or to regular cotton mer- 
chants. The cotton cannot always be sent at once to the 
cotton mills; hence merchants generally have large storage 
houses where the cotton is collected and held until it can 
be shipped. They may sell either directly to the mills or 
to other cotton dealers or brokers. A large part of the 
American cotton is shipped abroad; hence the cotton mer- 
chants sometimes act themselves as exporters or else sell 
the cotton to regular exporters or to foreign buyers. Some- 
times the merchants ship to Europe on the order of Con- 
tinental cotton-buying houses or spinning mills; in other 
cases the foreign houses send buyers to this country who 
buy from the merchants or even directly from the local 
dealers and larger planters if they have a chance to see for 
themselves apd judge the quality of the cotton. 

The cotton exchange. — To facilitate the buying and sell- 
ing of cotton, regular market places are established in most 



58 TEXTILES 

of the large southern cities, and in certain other cities sup- 
plying the manufacturers. Buyers and sellers of cotton 
come together in these places, make their various offers and 
bids, and complete their transactions. This place of meet- 
ing, often a building especially fitted for cotton trading, is 
known as a cotton exchange. The work of the exchange is 
carefully governed by a set of rules laid down by an asso- 
ciation of the dealers meeting there. These rules cover 
everything from how the business is to be conducted to 
how the cotton is to be graded. All the cotton merchants, 
many local dealers, all the exporters and cotton brokers, 
and even many cotton spinners belong to some cotton- 
exchange association, or sometimes to several. The mem- 
bership gives one the right to come in and do his trading 
in the cotton-exchange building under the rules of the asso- 
ciation. Spinners usually obtain their cotton through these 
exchanges, although a certain amount is purchased directly 
from planters or local dealers by the southern mills in the 
cotton belt. 

Spot sales and future sales. — In the cotton exchanges two 
sorts of sales are made ; the first is known as a "spot" sale, 
calling for delivery of the cotton at once, and the other as a 
"future," in which the cotton is to be delivered at some 
future time. Spot sales are familiar to all in every trade. 
Selling or buying for future delivery suggests that there is 
an element of speculation in cotton trading that needs to be 
explained. 

Market price variations. — Anyone who will follow the 
market reports of cotton prices will presently note that the 
prices at which cotton is bought and sold vary considerably 
from time to time. In fact, cotton prices vary from day 
to day, even from hour to hour. This variation in price 
is due to many things : the variations in demand for cotton 
goods among the consumers of the world, the financial pros- 
perity of the people, the conditions of crops, and the avail- 



COTTON MARKETING 59 

able supply of cotton. If the demand for cotton is strong 
and the supply small, the prices will go up; if the demand 
is weak and the supply ample, then prices will go down. 
During a year of hard times people buy less clothing than 
during prosperous times ; hence we say that the demand falls 
off. If at the same time there happens to be a good cotton 
crop, farmers and cotton merchants will not be able to 
get so much for their product as when times are good. 
When the cotton crop is poor, the supply is diminished and 
the price rises, because people must pay more when there 
is not enough of the products demanded. 

The markets show tendencies of supply and demand long 
before the people know anything ab^ut what is going on. 
For example, if cotton manufacturers and merchants should 
learn from the government reports or otherwise that the 
cotton boll weevil was destroying an unusually large amount 
of young cotton bolls in July, they would judge that the 
supply of cotton would be by that much diminished in No- 
vember, and that the price would therefore go up at that 
time. Being good business men, they would not wait 
until November, but would immediately begin buying up the 
cheaper last year's cotton. This stimulated demand in July 
would at once result in an increased price ; but November's 
price would be still higher. 

Every hour of the day brings to the markets news from 
all over the world about cotton crops, cotton supply, and 
cotton demands. The effect of this news is shown at 
once in the price. An unimportant bit of news may change 
the price no more than a quarter of a cent a pound; tid- 
ings of war in India would make the price jump several 
cents. 

Cotton speculation. — Everybody knows that prices will 
change. The difficulty lies in telling whether they will go 
up or down. Chance largely decides the matter. Keen 
foresight and experience give some men rather unusual 



6o TEXTILES 

powers in predicting probable market variations. Unfor- 
tunately, plenty of people who lack these are ready to be- 
lieve that they have the necessary knowledge and good for- 
tune to buy cotton when it is low in price and hold it for 
a higher price. Cotton speculation thus comes into ex- 
istence. If cotton goes up, the speculators who have bought 
win ; if it goes down, they lose. Even the best of the cot- 
ton brokers make mistakes, but what they lose on some 
transactions they hope to make up on others. 

Dealing in futures. — Cotton speculation often takes an- 
other form which is called "dealing in futures." A spinner 
sometimes fears that the price of raw cotton may go up, 
but he must go ahead and take orders from weavers for 
great amounts of yarn to be delivered at some future time 
in order to keep his plant busy. What price shall he put 
on this yarn? Can he make it low enough to insure his 
getting the order, and yet leave him a fair profit? If he 
figures the price of the yarn on the basis of the current 
cost for raw cotton, he will be protected, provided raw cot- 
ton does not increase in value. If it goes down he will 
make a larger profit; if it goes up, he will lose. What can 
he do to insure himself against loss? Most spinners who 
do not care to incur any risk of rising prices of raw cotton 
buy at current prices from a broker or merchant on the ex- 
change the amount of cotton that they will need to fill their 
orders, stipulating that this amount be delivered at some 
stated future time, the time when they will need the cotton 
at the factory. The risk of loss because of rising prices is 
thus transferred from the spinner to the cotton broker. 
The spinner can now go ahead with a feeling of security, 
for he knows that whenever he wants it he will have his 
cotton from the broker at the specified price. Of course, 
if cotton prices should fall, not he but the broker would 
profit thereby. But most manufacturers feel that it is the 
best policy to keep out of speculating on cotton prices, as 



COTTON MARKETING 6i 

much as possible, and to depend upon manufacturing profits 
rather than upon market profits of raw cotton. It should 
be noted that the broker who sells the cotton to the spinner 
may not have any cotton on hand when the contract is 
made. The cotton may not even be in existence. It may 
be still on the plants in the fields hundreds of miles away, 
not ready to be picked for months. The broker simply 
agrees to supply the cotton at a given future date and at a 
certain price, hoping to be able either to find the cotton 
before that time, or to sell his contract to someone who can 
furnish the required amount of cotton on time. 

Hedging. — Shortly after making the contract the broker 
may conclude that prices are going to rise and that he will 
lose on his deal. In this case he does what the spinner did ; 
that is, he goes to the cotton exchange to find someone who 
will agree for as low a price as possible at the given future 
date to supply the cotton contracted for. If he finds such a 
seller, the risk that cotton may go up is thus transferred 
to this third party. In like manner one contract for cotton 
for future delivery may pass through a number of hands, 
each man buying or selling as his judgment and circum- 
stances dictate. Covering a future sale by a future purchase, 
as carried on by the broker in the way described above, or 
as done by the spinner who bought from the broker to cover 
future sales, is known as "hedging." Wherever there is 
dealing in futures, there will inevitably be a certain amount 
of such hedging, for it allows the losses due to changing 
prices to be shifted by the spinners upon the brokers, and 
by the brokers among themselves, often in such a manner 
as to cause no great loss to any individual. 

Cotton trading. — There is much of this buying and selling 
in cotton futures. Great quantities of cotton are contracted 
for in this way, practically all of which have no existence 
except on paper at the time the contracts are made. Most 
cotton brokers at the exchanges never see the material 



62 TEXTILES 

that they buy and sell. Numerous contracts for future 
delivery of cotton are bought and sold back and forth so 
as to cancel each other before the time of delivery. Con- 
tracts in the possession of one man may be used simply as 
a means of paying a debt to another, and so on indefinitely, 
just as bank checks are passed from hand to hand, no cash 
passing until the final settlement. 

Criticisms of dealing in futures. — Dealing in futures on 
the cotton exchanges has been condemned by many people 
as gambling. It certainly has much of the gambling element 
in it, and many abuses in the cotton trade have grown out 
of it.-' On the other hand there appear certain good results. 
For example, the cotton manufacturer gets rid of the risk 
from taking chances on the market when he is fixing prices 
on ordered goods. This permits him to give his whole time 
to the efficient management of his business. Both manu- 
facturers and the public are by that much the gainers. 
Again, the dealing in futures has the effect of equalizing 
price variations, an undoubted benefit to the producer, who 
can then feel more certain about what he can get for his 
crop when it is ready for market. Buyers and dealers all 
along the line can handle the cotton on closer margins be- 
cause of the smaller chance of price variations ; hence the 
farmers get more for their product. On the whole, if the 
cotton exchanges are properly regulated, the benefits of 
cotton speculation outweigh its evils. 

During the years 1908 and 1909, the United States Bureau 
of Corporations made a full investigation of the system of 
dealing in futures. In its report, published in three large 
volumes, judgment was given fairly and impartially, and 
while several recommendations were made for the regulation 
of dealing in futures, prohibition of such dealing was not 
advised. It is noteworthy that the principal cotton ex- 
changes of the country, such as those at New York, New 
Orleans, and other large cities, have voluntarily complied 



COTTON MARKETING 63 

with these recommendations. Cotton trading is now upon 
a better basis than ever before. 

In general, cotton marketing is fairly well organized. 
There are, no doubt, many things that could be bettered, 
but when one learns that it costs only about four-fifths of a 
cent a pound to get the cotton from the farm to the cotton 
exchanges, an amount covering not only transportation 
charges and handling but also all profits on the way, one 
must conclude that there is little waste in the marketing 
system. The entire expense of marketing cotton, covering 
all expenses and profits, from the American plantations to 
the cotton mills of Liverpool, is only about one and one- 
half cents a pound. ^ 



CHAPTER VI 
COTTON MANUFACTURING 

The manufacturing processes. — When the cotton finally 
arrives at the factory, it must undergo many long and in- 
teresting processes before it is finally turned into the forms 
suitable for consumers' use. The principal group processes 
were named in Chapter II : spinning, weaving or knitting, 
dyeing, and finishing, and finally the production of ready-to- 
wear goods. We shall now trace each of these processes 
in order. 

Business organisation of the manufacturing processes. — 
Generally each of these processes is conducted in a separate 
factory and under separate management. It is the exception 
to find one company owning all the factories necessary to 
turn out finished goods, although the number of such com- 
panies seems to be increasing. In most cases the spinning 
is done by one house, the weaving by another, the dyeing 
and finishing by a third, and the cutting up into ready-to- 
wear goods by still another. In most cases the goods change 
ownership with each move from plant to plant, although 
weavers and knitters frequently send goods to dyers and 
finishing houses to be colored and finished at so much a 
yard or a pound. Sometimes goods are handled by specula- 
tors or middlemen, known as converters, who buy the goods 
as they come from the loom and hire other factories to dye 
and finish them. There are in this country several cotton- 
manufacturing concerns that do their own spinning, weav- 
ing, and finishing, but none, so far as the writer knows, has 

64 



COTTON MANUFACTURING 65 

added cutting to its activities. Usually the woven and fin- 
ished goods are turned over to some broker or jobber who 
in turn sells them to cutters-up or to the piece-goods trade ; 
that is, the dry goods wholesalers and retailers the country 
over. 

Purchase of cotton by spinners. — It has already been 
suggested that the spinners must get their cotton from ex- 
change brokers or from merchants, and also that in order 
to produce yarns of a certain quality they may find it neces- 
sary or economical to mix two or more varieties of cotton. 
All the year round new cotton is coming into the big mar- 
kets of the world. For example, American cottons begin 
to be available in November and December. Egyptian cot- 
tons come just a little later. India cottons are picked and 
shipped throughout the year, as are also those of Brazil, 
while Peruvian cottons arrive in February or March. Be- 
sides the new cottons, the warehouses contain cotton owned 
by farmers, merchants, or speculators, and held for in- 
creased prices or for filling previous contracts. From these 
various sources of supply of new and of old cotton, the 
spinner must get what he needs. 



THE SPINNING PROCESS 

The process of spinning is essentially nothing more than 
taking the loose, tangled fibers, drawing them into a smooth, 
uniform thread, and twisting the thread to give it strength. 
This process, formerly done by hand, is now accompHshed 
by long rows of complicated and expensive machines in the 
spinning mill. 

The cotton arrives at these mills in the bale. First the 
iron bands and the wrappings are removed that the bales 
may be broken into pieces. Then the cotton is loosened 
pretty thoroughly, after which any desired mixing of quali- 



66 TEXTILES 

ties or varieties is performed. The cotton is then passed 
through machines that clean it, remove all impurities, and 
reduce every lump into a fine downy mass. Next it is 
carded, and if of fine quality and intended for the finest 
goods, it is also combed. From the carding and combing 
machines the cotton passes into drawing frames, machines 
that begin to draw the cotton out into a thread. It is then 
ready for the spinning machines where the final twisting of 
the yarn takes place. In an up-to-date plant human hands 
scarcely touch the cotton from the time it enters the bale 
breaker until it comes out from the spinning machines a 
finished yarn. 

The steps in the process. — The first machine, known as 
the bale breaker, takes the big lumps of hard-packed cotton 
as it is found after the wrappings have been removed from 
the bale, and breaks them into smaller pieces, which pass 
into another machine called the cotton opener, there to be 
torn into still finer portions. In some mills the bales are 
broken up by hand, instead of by the machine bale breaker. 
The lumps made by hand-breaking are fed directly into the 
cotton openers. 

In the Southern States, in sections where a consider- 
able amount of loose cotton is hauled directly from the 
gin to the mill without baling, there is of course no use for 
the bale-breaking and cotton-opening machines. These ma- 
chines simply undo what the baler or compress has done 
for the cotton fibers. 

Mixing. — After the cotton bales have been broken into 
small pieces, the next step is mixing. This is generally 
done by conveying the cotton from the bale breakers and 
openers to bins, where a layer of one kind of cotton is cov- 
ered by another, and so on until all the cotton of a certain 
batch or ''mixing," as it is called, has been deposited in the 
right proportions. At the end of the operation the different 
varieties or classes of cotton lie in the same bin in horizontal 



COTTON MANUFACTURING 67 

layers. When the mass is removed from the bin, it is taken 
out in vertical, or up-and-down, sections. 

The picker. — From the mixing bin the cotton is conveyed 
by hand, or by machine in large modern plants, into a con- 
trivance known as the picker. This pulls the cotton fibers 
into loose masses and delivers them in a flat sheet which 
looks like cotton batting, but which in cotton-mill language 
is called the lap. 

The lap is immediately sent on to other machines known 
as the intermediate picker and finisher picker, each of which 
pulls the fibers into a still looser mass, and beats out sand, 
dust, and most of the other foreign matter likely to be found 
in a cotton bale. Each machine delivers the cotton in the 
form of a lap. In this form the cotton is much easier to 
handle and to feed into the next machine than loose bulk 
cotton would be. If the machines are not close together, the 
lap is wound into a roll like cotton batting, from which it 
is unwound when passed into the next machine. 

The scutcher. — If there is considerable dirt in the cotton 
it is generally run through another series of machines known 
as scutchers. In the scutchers the cotton lap gets a great 
deal of beating and shaking which removes the foreign mat- 
ter. 

The cleaner the cotton is at the start, the less beating "or 
scutching it needs. This is an important matter, for beat- 
ing is sure to weaken a certain amount of the fiber, and the 
more beating it gets, the weaker will be the final product, 
the yarn. 

Carding. — From the pickers or the scutchers, as the case 
may be, the cotton lap is transferred into the carding ma- 
chine, the purpose of which is to remove all dirt, sticks, 
particles of leaves, and other impurities that were not re- 
moved by the pickers and scutchers. It disentangles the 
fibers still more, and lays them approximately parallel. 
Drawing out the lap into a thin filmy layer of cotton, usually 



68 TEXTILES 

about forty inches wide, it then contracts this layer into a 
light, round cotton rope or ribbon about an inch in diameter. 
This rope is called the card sliver. 

The carding machine or carding engine consists essen- 
tially of two surfaces both covered with great numbers of 
short, sharp teeth made of wire. These surfaces, called the 
cards, face each other with only a narrow space clear be- 
tween the teeth. The cards move in such a way as to brush 
the cotton lint as it passes between them, combing out the 
fibers and catching all irregularities, such as dirt, parts of 
seeds, short fibers, and neps (little bunches of cotton fiber 
that have not been loosened). The lower card is in all 
modern machines a large revolving cylinder, while the upper 
card is shaped like a cover or roof over the upper part of 
the cylinder. A few years ago the upper card was a sta- 
tionary device, but it has now been improved so that it moves 
also. This has been accomplished by fastening the carding 
surface to an endless belt or carrier, passing it around cyl- 
inders at the two ends and at the middle, and putting in 
devices to keep the lower side from sagging down upon the 
lower card. Thus both upper and lower cards revolve, but 
the cylinder turns at a much greater speed than does the top 
card, known as the Mts; the cotton is therefore brushed and 
combed by the fiats while being carried along on the teeth 
of the cylinder. 

There are also in the carding engine other mechanical de- 
vices called respectively the licker-in and the doffer. The 
first draws the cotton lap into the cards ; the second removes 
it therefrom. The cotton is removed from the doffer by a 
comb. The machinery having been so adjusted that the cot- 
ton travels faster in the cards than the rate at which the lap 
comes in, the stream or sheet of cotton lint becomes much 
thinner than the lap from the scutcher that enters the card- 
ing engine. 

From the doffer the thin cotton lap is carried to what 



COTTON MANUFACTURING 69 

is known as a trumpet mouth in which the entire lap is con- 
densed into a round rope, three or four inches in diameter, 
called the card sliver. The sliver is immediately passed be- 
tween a pair of calendar rollers which condense it to about 
the size of a broomstick. Thence it is conveyed to a little 
device that winds it spirally into a deep sheet-iron or tin can 
called the sliver can. When full, this can is carried to the 
drawing machinery. In case yarn of a very high count, or 
of a very fine size, is to be made, the sliver is taken to the 
combing machines to be combed before it is sent to the 
drawing frame. Practically all sea-island cotton, all yarn 
of sizes from 6o's up, and certain fine yarns of lower counts 
are thus not only carded but combed also. In some cases, 
especially in producing yarn for medium-priced cotton 
underwear and warp for velvets and fancy woven fab- 
rics, the cotton lint is run through the carding ma- 
chine a second time instead of through a combing ma- 
chine. The latter process has been found to be cheaper 
than combing. 

Combing. — The combing machine simply does more per- 
fectly what the carding machine starts to do in the way of 
cleaning the fibers, removing the neps and short fibers, and 
getting all the remaining fibers to lie smoothly and in parallel 
order. The usual combing rnethod consists in taking sev- 
eral cans full of sliver to the machine and starting eight or 
ten, or even more, into the combing machine at once. These 
slivers are first converted into a smooth lap about nine inches 
wide and then are passed as a single stream or lap into the 
combing device. Here by means of rollers, nippers, and 
rows of metal teeth the fibers are thoroughly combed, and 
all short fibers, any dirt remaining, and other foreign mat- 
ter are pushed aside as waste. There has been great im- 
provement in cotton combing during recent years. The 
combing machines now utilize cotton fiber that is not more 
than seven-eighths of an inch long, and yet produce a sliver 



70 TEXTILES 

that is almost as fine as that from the best cotton a dozen 
years ago. 

Drawing. — Next, the slivers from the carding engine or 
from the combing machine are taken to the drazving frame. 
About six slivers are introduced together. The drawing 
frame takes these six and so draws them out that the result- 
ing sliver is no larger than one of the card slivers. Draw- 
ing simply mixes the cotton, causes the fibers to arrange 
themselves in the best manner possible for the spinning that 
is to follow, and draws the combined six slivers out into 
the thickness of one. The drawing frame accomplishes this 
by means of several sets of rollers through which the slivers 
pass, each following pair of rollers having a higher rate of 
speed than the pair preceding. Requirements differ, but 
most cotton is run through drawing frames three times. 

Next the cans full of sliver from the drawing frames 
are transferred to the ^y frames. Here the cotton is drawn 
out into still smaller diameters and given the small amount 
of twist sufficient to allow the sliver to be drawn out fur- 
ther without breaking. For very coarse yarns the cotton 
passes through but two fly frames, the ones known as the 
stubbing frame and the roving frame, the product from the 
slubbing frame being called stubbing or slub, and the prod- 
uct from the roving frame roving. For medium yarns the 
cotton passes through three fly frames, slubbing, intermedi- 
ate and roving, while for very fine yarns it is passed on to a 
jacJ? frame to be drawn out still more. The cotton from 
the fly frames, now called roving, is wound on spools or 
bobbins and taken to the spinning machines. 

Comparison of the mule and ring frames. — Spinning 
completes the drawing out of the cotton roving to the re- 
quired size, and gives it the proper amount of twist. There 
are two kinds of spinning machines in use, one known as 
the mute frame and the other as the ring frame. The mule 
frame is the older machine invented in England, while the 



COTTON MANUFACTURING 71 

ring frame is an American invention dating back to 1828. 
Each has certain advantages. For example, mule spinning 
produces a soft, oozy, elastic yarn that is very satisfactory 
for hosiery, underwear, and especially for woolen goods. 
The mule frame is more common in the woolen-spinning 
industry than in the cotton. Although it is much more com- 
plicated than the ring frame, takes up more space, requires 
more skillful operators, and does not run so fast as the ring 
frame, yet it is not so hard on the yarn, and it produces yarn 
of superior quality. The ring frame is not usually used for 
yarns running above 6o's. The mule frame has three distinct 
and separate motions : first, the roving is drawn out ; second, 
it is given the necessary twist; and third, the twisted yarn 
is wound on the spindle. The ring frame draws, twists, and 
winds, all at the same time. In both cases the yarn is wound 
on bobbins, cops, or tubes fastened on the spindle. This is 
the form in which it usually leaves the spinning milt. Some- 
times, however, it is rewound on wooden spools by another 
machine called the spooler. Cotton yarn is quoted on the 
market as so much a pound for a certain size on cops, cones, 
or tubes, or in skeins. Often the yarns are combined, 
twisted double or triple — or two-ply or three-ply, as it is 
called. Special machines perform this operation. 

YARN 

Warp and weft yarns. — For purposes of making cloth 
two classes of yarn are spun, namely, a loose, slightly 
twisted yarn for the filling, not requiring much strength, 
and a hard twisted, strong yarn for the warp. Each class 
is sold as such by the spinners to weavers, and the weavers 
insist on getting the proper qualities in each to suit their 
purposes. 

Long fiber for warp, short fiber for zveft. — In cotton 
spinning it is profitable to use the longer cotton fibers for 



^2 TEXTILES 

the warp and the shorter fibers for the weft or filling. Some 
of the shortest varieties of cotton, such as Mobile, are used 
only for filling. The reason for this is that the warp must 
be spun harder and made stronger than the filling. The 
warp must undergo much handling and strain. It must be 
threaded through the heddles of the loom and stretched 
across the loom. Every move of the heddles up and down 
subjects it to new strains. Weft, on the other hand, is 
simply wound onto the bobbins that go into the weaving 
shuttles, and unwound into place between the warp threads. 
At no time need it be much stronger than to support its own 
weight; hence cotton can be spun into a much finer yarn 
or thread if it is to be used as weft or filling than if it is to 
be used as warp. Whenever warp and weft yarns of the 
same size are used, the warp is usually made from a longer 
fibered higher grade cotton than the weft. The shorter 
the fiber, the coarser the yarn must be made to have requi- 
site strength, but weft, or filling, need not be so strong, and 
therefore not so coarse as warp yarn. 

Cotton yarn sizes. — Cotton yarns used in the textile in- 
dustry go by numbers, the number depending upon how 
many yards are required to make one pound. The unit is 
840 yards; that is, yarn of size i, which is taken as the 
unit or standard, runs 840 yards to the pound. Yarn size 
10 would contain 8,400 yards to the pound, and yarn size 
100 would contain 84,000 yards to the pound. The spun 
cotton is reeled into skeins, and these are tied together into 
hanks. A regular spinner's skein contains 120 yards, and 
since there are seven skeins in a hank, the hank contains 
840 yards. So when a hank weighs one pound it is called 
size I, or simply I's. If the hank weighs half a pound, the 
size is 2's. If the hank weighs only an ounce, 1/16 of a 
pound, the size of the yarn is i6's, and so on, the numbers 
running up as high as 200's, which means 168,000 yards to 
the pound. 



COTTON MANUFACTURING 73. 

What a pound of cotton contains. — It is surprising to 
most students to learn for the first time that one pound of 
cotton fibers can be turned into so much yarn. When yarns 
of the proper sizes are used in making fabrics, one pound 
of cotton produces one and one-half yards of denim. It 
produces four yards of sheeting, four yards of bleached 
muslin, six yards of gingham, or seven yards of calico. It 
is even sufficient for ten yards of lawn, twenty-five hand- 
kerchiefs, or fifty-six spools of No. 40 sewing cotton. But 
one ceases to wonder at this when he learns that there are 
140,000,000 fibers in a pound of upland cotton, and that 
if these were placed end to end, the line would extend a 
distance of over 2,200 miles. 

Use of yarn numbers in handling cotton. — In speaking 
of the quaHty of a given kind of raw cotton, it is customary 
among manufacturers to state what size of yarn it will 
spin. For example, in speaking of India cotton, it might 
be stated that it will spin 12's. This means that its fiber 
is so short that it will not make a yarn finer than number 
12, which runs 10,080 yards to the pound — a very coarse 
cotton yarn, such as is used in heavy sheeting, drills, and 
denims. Sea-island cotton will make a yarn as fine as 200's, 
and it has even been claimed that it has been drawn out as 
fine as 400's. It can well be imagined that cloth made of 
such fine yarn, even though closely woven, would be like 
gossamer, as light as air. Between those two extremes occur 
all the sizes of yarns used in ordinary fabrics. 

The numbers spun from different varieties. — The follow- 
ing are some of the leading varieties of cotton with the 
average sizes of yarn made from them and some examples 
of uses made of the yarns. There is considerable variation 
in each kind of cotton and the table aims to present simply 
a general idea of the more frequent cotton qualities. Re- 
member that the filling or weft yarns can be made from a 
fourth to a half finer than those for the warp. 



74 



TEXTILES 



Variety of Cotton 



Average 

Length in 
Inches 


Average 
Warp 


Average 
Fining 


2 


lOO 


150 


i^ 


80 


120 


lYs 


50 


70 


iH 


40 


60 


iM 


35 


50 


^Vs 


30 


45 


I 


25 


35 


I 


18 


25 


Vs 


8 


20 


Vs 




12 



Examples of Uses 
Made of Yams 



Sea-island , 



Brown Egyptian. 

Peeler 

Orleans or Gulf . . 
Allanseed 

Upland 

Texas 

Boweds 

Mobile 

India 



Sewing cotton, 
lace, imitation 
silk 

Sewing cotton, 
foundation for 
silk, mercerized 
cottons, finest 
lawns, dimities 

Fine lawns, silk 
mixtures, organdy 

Lawns, fine ging- 
hams 

Ginghams, per- 
cales, nainsooks, 
shirtings 

Percales, calicoes, 
sateens, velve- 
teens 

Calicoes, fine 
sheeting, cheese 
cloth, galateas 

Sheetings, coarse 
calicoes, window 
Hollands 

Heavy sheetings, 
drills, tickings 

Denims, ducks, 
tickings 



Mixing cottons. — When manufacturers desire to produce 
a fabric that requires a certain size of yarn, they do not 
always buy merely the one kind of cotton, which, accord- 
ing to the table, will make that size. It is not always pos- 
sible to get a full supply of any one of the kinds named; 
furthermore the list contains only a few of the many varie- 
ties that come to market, each with its own special quali- 
ties. There may be a crop failure in some one variety of 
cotton, or perhaps there is strong competition for this va- 



COTTON MANUFACTURING 75 

riety, making the price too high for ordinary use. In order 
to produce yarn of a certain size a manufacturer usually 
buys part of his supply of cotton of better grade than 
necessary, and part of poorer. These he mixes in such 
proportions as will give just the grade desired. Sometimes 
as many as six or eight kinds of cotton are mixed in order 
to get the right quality in a yarn. Consequently, mixing 
cottons is a science in itself, and requisite not only in order 
to get a yarn of a certain size, but also to get the right 
smoothness, fineness, strength, and glossiness, or the right 
feeling to the sense of touch. Those who manufacture cer- 
tain well-known brands of goods desire to maintain ex- 
actly the same qualities in those goods year after year. But 
all of the cottons naturally vary from year to year accord- 
ing to the season. The same variety will not have exactly 
the same qualities every year. To insure fixed qualities 
in his standard goods, the manufacturer employs blends 
or mixtures that will give the same result every time. The 
proportions of the various kinds of cottons are varied as 
may be necessary to preserve the same qualities in the 
rriixture. 

English cotton-mixing table. — The following table shows 
how cottons are usually mixed by English spinners in mak- 
ing first-class qualities of yarn. Only sizes of warp are 
given. Weft or filling can be a fourth or more finer from 
the same blends. Note that many varieties of India cotton 
are named. Practically all the India cotton is exported to 
England. 

Under 12's — Bengal sind and cotton wastes 

" 15's — One part Bengal, one part Smyrna, and one part 

Chinese 
" 2o's — One part Dharwar, one part Dhollerah or lower 

grades of American cotton 
" 30's — Better grades of Indian with strong low classes of 

American 
** 40's — Middling grades or Texas mixed with one-half as 

much Peruvian or Brazilian 



76 TEXTILES 

Under 50's — Good, fair, brown Eg\''ptian or higher grades of 
American cotton, mixed with not more than 
one-third Marahans, Santos, or Punams 
" 6o's — Fully good, fair, brown Egyptian 
" 8o's — Good brown Egyptian alone or mixed with Joan- 

novich or very good Abassi 
" 90's — Combed brown Egyptian mixed with Joannovich 
or Abassi 
From 90's upward — combed sea-island 

The American cotton spinner mixes accordmg to the 
same principles, but uses a larger proportion of American 
varieties. 

In general, most American cottons are made into yarns 
running from 32 to 36 for warp or twist and 36 to 40 for 
weft or filling. Egyptian cotton is used in preparing yarns 
running from 50 to 60 warp and from 42 to 62 weft, the 
poorer grades and shorter fibers being used in the weft. 

Forms in which yarn is put up. — Yarns are delivered 
from the spinners to the weavers in eight different forms, 
as follows: (See illustration.) 

A. In skeins or hanks. 

B. Wound on wooden or metallic spools. 

■C. Wound on cops, the usual form in which the yarn is 
wound on the spindles. 

D. Wound on paper tubes instead of cops. 

E. Wound on double-headed bobbins, much like large 

spools in appearance. 

F. Wound in the form of cheeses. 

G. Wound in ball form. 

H. Wound on the warp beams ready for the weaving proc- 
esses. 

THE WEAVING PROCESS 

The steps in the process. — Preliminary to weaving is, of 
course, the determination of the kind of cloth to be made 
and the amount of yarn going into it. By arithmetical 




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COTTON MANUFACTURING '77 

computations, it is found how many warp threads will be 
required to make the cloth of the required width. This is 
spoken of as finding the required number of "ends." The 
filling or weft threads are called 'Spicks." 

Winding the warp. — When the number of ends needed 
has been computed, arrangements are made to have these 
wound on the loom warp beams in the necessary manner. 
The threads are distributed along the beam at equal dis- 
tances and wound on very evenly and carefully, each at the 
same tension, for this even tension in all of the warp 
threads on the loom is highly desirable during the weaving. 

Sizing. — After the warp is strong and smooth, the warp 
beams with the warp wound thereon are placed in the looms, 
and weaving is begun. But most warp needs further treat- 
ment before it is thus ready to be used in weaving, espe- 
cially if it is a single-twist yarn and not very strong. It 
must first be sized, that is, given a coating of some stiffen- 
ing substance that will give it strength, stiffness, and smooth- 
ness. Without this sizing it would be liable to break when 
subjected to the strain and friction of weaving. Sizing is 
composed of many different substances — in most cases, of 
some kind of starchy substance, such as wheat flour, corn- 
starch, potato starch, or sago flour. This substance is usu- 
ally boiled in water, and a little tallow, paraffin, or other 
oily substance added to soften it. To this some preserva- 
tive is added, such as chloride of zinc, cresol, or salicylic 
acid, to prevent souring, mildew, or other bacterial action 
or vegetable growth. The sizing applied to the warp has 
a purpose distinct from that used in finishing cloths. The 
latter will be described later. 

The method of applying the sizing to the warp yarn is 
somewhat as follows : The warp beams holding the warp 
yarn are taken to the tank which contains the sizing. The 
tank has a roller in it with the lower side immersed. The 
ends of the warp from the warp beam are passed under this 



78 TEXTILES 

roller, then out of the tank and over other rollers heated by- 
steam, and thence upon the warp or weaver's beams. This 
process of unwinding the warp and immersing it in the 
sizing tank thoroughly saturates it with the sizing. Run- 
ning it over the steam-heated rollers dries it, and when 
wound on a weaver's beam it is ready to go to the looms. 

Preparation of loom. — The next step is the preparation 
of the loom. The beam with the sized warp on it is fixed 
into place at the back of the loom, and the ends of the warp 
are passed up through the harnesses and reed, each thread 
in its proper place. The ends are finally fastened to the 
taking-up roller at the front of the loom, whereupon the 
loom is ready for the weaving. The harnesses raise and 
lower the warp threads properly, the shuttle begins to fly 
back and forth between the warp threads as they are raised 
and lowered, leaving behind it a trail of warp from the 
shuttle bobbin, and the weaving of the cloth has begun. 
After each trip of the shuttle, the reed automatically strikes 
the weft thread into place, leaving the finished cloth closely 
woven. As fast as the cloth is woven the taking-up roller 
pulls it forward and winds it. 

The machines and the laborers. — Throughout the proc- 
esses that have been described in this section, every part of 
the work except moving the cotton from machine to ma- 
chine, starting the machines, keeping them oiled and in re- 
pairs, and mending breaks and tears in the product, is done 
by machine. The simple attention that the machines need is 
given in most cases by men of no unusual skill, by women, 
and in some parts of the country by children. Competition 
and other conditions have brought the prices of the finished 
product down so low that the making of a profit above costs 
of production is a problem of efficiency in management. 
Many a mill makes no profits on certain contracts, and not 
a few lose money. There is constantly an effort to get 
cheaper labor; whence frequent difficulties result between 



COTTON MANUFACTURING 79 

laborer and employer. The cotton worker's standard of 
living is gradually becoming lower, approaching the standard 
of the people in the same occupation in other countries. 
This not unnaturally makes American operatives restless. 
Nor can we believe that these difficulties are likely soon to 
end except in plants where the management is both humani- 
tarian and businesslike. 

Air conditioning in cotton mills. — Certain physical con- 
ditions seem necessary for successful cotton manufacturing, 
among others a moist atmosphere. Up to a few years ago, 
it occurred to no one to produce those conditions artificially ; 
wherefore only the regions with a wet or moist climate were 
successful in putting out the best yarns. Lancashire in 
England, and eastern Massachusetts were two such regions. 
But now contrivances have been invented which supply the 
necessary moisture to the air of the cotton mills in propor- 
tions more certain than the Lancashire or Massachusetts 
climate could guarantee. These contrivances are called 
humidifiers, and the process of keeping the air moist is called 
air conditioning. In a dry air cotton becomes crinkly and 
brittle, and in the fly frames and spinning machines as well 
as in the looms the fibers break easily. But in a moist air 
the strength and behavior of the fiber are greatly improved. 
The air must not be too moist, however, for then other diffi- 
culties arise. The humidifier is so adjusted as continuously 
to keep a given proportion of water vapor in the air of 
the mill. The moment this proportion of water falls below 
standard, the humidifier sends out a thin spray, of water 
vapor, stopping automatically as soon as conditions are 
rectified. The temperature of the mill rooms is also im- 
portant. It has been found that at 75° Fahrenheit the cot- 
ton works up best. 

Cotton waste and its use. — A cotton mill must utilize 
countless other mechanical and scientific devices. It must 
call nothing "waste." At every step there is a certain loss, 



8o TEXTILES 

of cotton fibers. This is especially true around the principal 
machines. This waste, known as "soft waste" until the 
fiber has left the spinning machines, and thereafter as "hard 
waste" (the particles of yarn or of cloth in the later proc- 
esses), is carefully collected and used again in making 
cheaper yarns and goods. A good deal of the waste from 
the American cotton mills has in the past been exported, 
especially to Germany, where machines have been invented 
to take care of such matter and use it to better advantage 
than can our machines. It is used, for instance, in making 
cheap cotton goods for home trade among the German 
poor, and for export trade with China and other parts of 
the world where flimsy cottons are in demand. It has found 
a place mainly, however, as filling for cotton blankets, cot- 
ton flannels, cheap trouserings, towels, carpets, mats, sacks, 
lamp wicks, wadding, twine, etc. Lately American manu- 
facturers have begun to install machines in the mills in this 
country to use the waste and to work it up at home. The 
utilization of cotton soft wastes will no doubt in time con- 
stitute an important part of our cotton industry. 

Cloth inspection and repairing. — After the cloth has 
finally come off the looms, it must be inspected for any 
weak places, tears, or other imperfections. These are re- 
paired as well as possible and the loose ends of warp and 
weft trimmed off, a process known as burling. Next the 
cloth is suitably marked if it is to be sent to bleacheries or 
dyeworks, and finally it is measured, rolled into bolts, and 
packed in paper. The bolts are then put into wooden boxes 
or cases. The cloth is now ready for the finishing processes. 



CHAPTER VII 
GEOGRAPHY OF THE COTTON TRADE 

Reasons for the cotton trade. — In a previous chapter 
some mention was made of the cotton-growing areas of the 
world. The manufacturing of cotton is often carried on 
far from the plantations. Most cotton-producing nations 
also have cotton manufactures, but the entire product of the 
nation is seldom used up at home. The kind of cotton 
produced is in some cases not entirely suitable for com- 
plete manufactures; hence imports of other varieties and 
qualities may be necessary, while the unused surplus is sent 
elsewhere. 

Extent of cotton trade.^By comparing a country's pro- 
duction of raw cotton with the consumption of its cotton 
factories we can get some idea of the vast world trade car- 
ried on in raw cotton. Absolutely accurate figures are un- 
obtainable; the following table is, however, fairly depend- 
able. It does not account for all of the cotton raised and 
manufactured, but what it does show will give an idea of 
the immensity of the trade in raw cotton. 

It is clear from this table that a great deal of cotton 
is moved from places where it is produced to distant places 
where it is to be worked into yarns and fabrics. The dis- 
crepancies that occur in the table, such as a greater con- 
sumption by the factories than production and importation 
for the year, 1910, may be accounted for by possible stocks 
of raw cotton on hand from the previous year, for these 
are not included under production or imports. Again, much 

81 



82 



TEXTILES 



Production and Consumption of Cotton by Nations for the 
Year 1910, in 500 Lb. Bales 



Raw Cotton 
Produced 



Total 
Imports 



Factory 
Consumption 



Total 

United States .... 

British India 

Egypt 

Russia 

China 

Brazil 

Peru 

Mexico 

Turkey 

Persia 

Great Britain 

Germany 

Japan 

France 

Italy 

Austria 

Spain 

Belgium 

Canada 

Switzerland 

All other countries 



19,171,000 



11,483,000 
3,508,000 
1,535,000 
900,000 
725,000 
360,000 
128,000 
135,000 
105,000 
92,000 
none 
none 
very little 
none 
none 
none 
none 
none 
none 
none 
200,000 



170,560 

11,723 

very little 

810,496 
54,910 

10,775 
none 

31,291 

very little 

very little 

3,945,482 

1,881,364 

1,320,853 

1,070,530 

769,881 

749,056 

320,142 

277,339 
162,524 

92,639 
not possible 
to give 



19,013,000 



4,695,000 

1,650,000 

very little 

1,625,000 

350,000 

370,000 

very little 

140,000 

very little 

very little 

3,782,000 

1,685,000 

1,060,000 

960,000 

790,000 

749,000 

315,000 

217,000 

119,000 

100,000 

125,000 



of the surplus not consumed was either stored over into the 
year 1911 or reexported to other countries. 

Countries interested in the cotton trade. — Where does the 
cotton from the great cotton-producing countries go? By 
reference to the table it is clear that it must go to the great 
cotton-consuming or manufacturing nations that produce no 
raw cotton. The surplus of cotton from the United States, 
India, Egypt, China, Peru, Turkey, and Russia must go to 
Great Britain, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Austria, etc. 
Some of the cotton going to England is reexported from 
there to other nations. 



GEOGRAPHY OF THE COTTON TRADE 83 

Cotton-exporting markets. — Naturally certain cities in 
the cotton-producing countries have become important as 
cotton-exporting centers. In the United States, Galveston 
ranks highest in number of bales received and shipped, the 
amount running considerably over 2,000,000 bales per year. 
New Orleans and Savannah come next. New Orleans usu- 
ally holds second place with a total yearly average of nearly 
2,000,000 bales, but in 1910 the amount ran down to 
1,315,000 bales and Savannah came into second place with 
1,365,000 bales. The other important cities receiving and 
shipping cotton in the southern United States are : Norfolk, 
Virginia; Wilmington, North Carolina; Mobile, Alabama; 
Brunswick and Charleston, South Carolina. Considerable 
cotton is received overland at Baltimore, New York, Phila- 
delphia, and even at Boston from the cotton states. 

The chief exporting ports in the other cotton-producing 
countries are Bombay and Madras in India, Alexandria in 
Egypt, and Shanghai in China. 

Cotton-importing markets. — Similarly, certain large 
cities have become prominent as the receiving centers for 
the great cotton-importing countries. No city in the world 
receives so much cotton as Liverpool. England's high rank 
as a cotton textile producer accounts for this, although a 
great deal of cotton received in Liverpool is reshipped in 
smaller quantities to various parts of Europe and elsewhere. 
American spinners frequently buy Egyptian or East Indian 
cotton in Liverpool. A few miles inland from Liverpool 
is another great cotton market, Manchester, the very heart' 
of the cotton textiles manufacturing district of England. 
Cotton received here is used in the immediate vicinity. 

Bremen and Hamburg are the chief cotton-receiving cities 
of Germany. Bremen gets mainly the American cottons, 
and Hamburg those from East India and Egypt. No small 
part of Hamburg's import, however, goes to Bremen before 
being sold to the manufacturer. Both Hamburg and 



84 TEXTILES 

Bremen supply cotton mills in all parts of Germany, Austria, 
Switzerland, Netherlands, and Russia. Belgium also gets 
some cotton from Bremen, but more from Liverpool. 

Havre is the great cotton-receiving port in France. Most 
of the cotton received comes directly from the United States, 
some from Liverpool, and a little from Hamburg. Dunkirk 
is the second greatest cotton-importing city in France. It 
receives American cottons mainly, whereas Marseilles in 
southern France receives considerable cotton from Egypt 
and India. 

Reval is the chief cotton-importing city of Russia. Others 
of importance are St. Petersburg, Alexandrovo, and Odessa. 
Most of the cotton comes direct from the United States, 
but a good deal is transshipped from Liverpool, Bremen, 
and Hamburg. Persian and Egyptian cottons are received 
in considerable amounts at Odessa. 

Barcelona is the chief cotton-receiving point in Spain. 
Rotterdam and Enscheide come first in Netherlands. Much 
of the cotton imported at these points comes directly from 
Germany and England. Gottenburg and Norrkoping in 
Sweden, Christiania in Norway, Oporto in Portugal, Kobe 
and Yokohama in Japan are the chief cotton-receiving cities 
in the countries named. 

In the United States, Boston ranks first as a cotton-im- 
porting city. This may be accounted for by its closeness to 
the cotton-manufacturing section of New England. Phila- 
delphia and New York follow. 

Liverpool, Bremen, Havre, New York, and Boston are 
the dominant cotton markets of the world. At each of these 
places there is a large association of business men whose 
sole purpose it is to promote commerce in raw cotton. The 
associations are known as cotton exchanges. In each of 
these cities is a large building used by the association for 
commercial trading. The working of the great exchanges 
is similar to that of the smaller and more general cotton 



GEOGRAPHY OF THE COTTON TRADE 85 

exchanges already described. The prices made at these 
great exchanges govern the cotton markets everywhere else. 
Since the greatest volume of cotton trading takes place at 
Liverpool, the Liverpool market is watched with greatest 
care not only by dealers in raw cotton, but also by cotton 
manufacturers, dealers in finished goods, and even by retail 
dry goods merchants. When cotton prices in Liverpool 
go up or down, cotton prices elsewhere are likely to follow 
their lead. 

Why the greatest cotton market is not in the United 
States. — The main reason why the United States, the great- 
est cotton-producing country in the world, is not the world's 
chief cotton market, is that the cotton is shipped from the 
farms to places widely separated. The cotton mills of this 
country are scattered over an extraordinarily wide area; 
no one point, therefore, could serve profitably as a cotton 
market and jobbing center. 



COTTON-MANUFACTURING CENTERS 

We now come to a consideration of the geography of 
the manufacture of cotton. It is evident from the figures 
given in the table in the first part of this chapter that cotton 
manufacturing must be done in the countries where cotton 
is received and collected. The United States, England, 
Germany, British India, Russia, Japan, and France, in the 
order named, manufacture the most cotton at the present 
time. 

Cotton manufacture in the United States. — In 1910 there 
were in the United States 1,324 establishments producing all 
kinds of cotton goods except hosiery and knit goods. There 
were in this same year 1,374 hosiery and knit goods plants 
(using wool and silk as well as cotton), making a total of 
2,698 cotton-using factories in the country. 



86 TEXTILES 

Although these plants are widely scattered, few states 
being without one or more, most of the establishments are 
located in three regions — New England, the Middle states, 
and the South. In a general way, and with many exceptions, 
New England manufactures the finer grades of cotton cloths, 
the Middle states manufacture knit goods, and the South 
produces the coarser grades of the staple cotton cloths. 

Cotton Manufacture in New England. — New Eng- 
land is, as we have seen, the historic center of cotton pro- 
duction in this country. More than a hundred years ago 
the industry was fairly well established in Massachusetts 
and Rhode Island. Later it spread to Connecticut, New 
Hampshire and Maine. New England does not today use 
so much raw cotton as the South, but it produces more 
yardage, because it specializes upon the finer grades. 

Some of the present chief cotton-manufacturing centers 
of New England are : 

In Massachusetts: 

Fall River — prints, twills, sateens, sheetings, cambric, 
muslins, shirtings, fine and fancy goods. Fall River 
had 104 cotton mills in 191 2. 
New. Bedford — sheetings, muslins, lawns, sateens, prints, 

brown goods, fine goods. 
Lowell — sheetings, drills, fancy dress and combed goods, 
duck, prints, shirtings, canton flannel, denims, cham- 
brays, plaids, seersuckers. 
Lawrence — sheetings, sateens, shirtings, dress goods, 

fancy prints, cottonades, denims. 
Other Massachusetts towns manufacturing cotton goods 
of a similar nature are Adams, North Adams, Amesbury, 
Blackstone, Chicopee, Clinton, Holyoke, Salem, Taunton, 
Webster, Ware, West Salem, Whitinsville, and several 
others of less importance. 



GEOGRAPHY OF THE COTTON TRADE ^7 

In Rhode Island: 

Providence — sheetings, shirtings, sateens, ginghams, 

bleached goods, etc. 
Pawtucket — sheetings, shirtings, cambrics, lawns, twills. 
Lonsdale — bleached goods, silesias. 
Manville — plain goods, ginghams. 
Warren — sheetings, shirtings, twills, sateens. 
Woonsocket — sheetings, shirtings, fancy goods. 

In Nezv Hampshire: 

Manchester — ginghams, denims, tickings, sheetings, shirt- 
ings, drills, ducks. 

Nashua — sheetings, shirtings, cotton flannel. 

Other New Hampshire cotton-manufacturing towns are 
Dover, Newmarket, Somersworth, and some others. 

In Connecticut: 

The products are much the same as those produced in 
Massachusetts mills. The more important factory 
towns are : North Grosvenor, Dale, Danielson, Mont- 
ville, Norwich, Taftsville, Waregan, and others. 

In Maine: 

Lewiston, Waterville, Biddeford, Augusta, Saco, Bruns- 
wick, Auburn, and Lisbon. 

The region of densest concentration of cotton manufac- 
turing is southeastern New England, within a thirty-mile 
radius of Providence, Rhode Island. This area includes 
parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. 
Here is wrought about one-third of the cotton spinning done 
in the United States. This is also the oldest cotton-manu- 



88 TEXTILES 

facturing region in the United States. Samuel Slater started 
the first power spinning machine at Pawtucket, Rhode Is- 
land, in 1 791. By 1809 there were forty-one spinning mills 
within this territory, and this part of the country has ever 
since held first place in cotton spinning. 

Cotton Manufacture in the Middle States. — The 
Middle Atlantic states, especially New York and Pennsyl- 
vania, produce preeminently the cotton knit goods. Of the 
1,374 cotton knit goods manufacturing plants in this country 
in 1910, Pennsylvania had 464 and New York had 360. No 
other state had as many as a hundred plants. The Pennsyl- 
vania plants were not so large nor so productive as those of 
New York. New York produced $67,130,296 worth of knit 
goods; Pennsylvania, $49,657,506 worth. Together they 
produced three-quarters of all the knit goods in the country. 
Massachusetts came next in importance with a total of $14,- 
736,025 ; Wisconsin followed with $7,843,389. It must be 
remembered, however, that the value here given is not for 
cotton alone, but for all textile materials used in knit goods. 

Knit Goods Centers. — Knit goods include underwear, 
hosiery, sweaters, knit jackets, etc. The cities producing 
most of these goods are New York, Utica, Cohoes, Amster- 
dam, Brooklyn, Albany, Little Falls, Troy, Syracuse, Rome, 
Rochester, and Waterford, in New York State. In Penn- 
sylvania the chief producing city is Philadelphia ; then come 
Harrisburg, Honesdale, Pittsburgh, Pottsville, Allentown, 
Reading, Royersford, Schuylkill Haven, and many others. 
There are several plants in Baltimore, and others scattered 
throughout Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Mis- 
souri, and several other states. 

New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore are the. chief knit 
goods markets in the country. New York ranks higher 
than either of the others, and here are most of the large 
cotton goods and knit goods commission houses of the 
country. 



GEOGRAPHY OF THE COTTON TRADE 89 

Cotton Manufacture in the South. — The South has 
made remarkable progress in cotton manufacture since the 
Civil War. It is told that in 1881 there was a cotton exposi- 
tion in Atlanta in which the possibilities of cotton manu- 
facture in the South were vividly advertised by the governor 
of Georgia, who appeared at the fair one evening dressed 
in a suit of cotton clothes manufactured upon the grounds 
from cotton which had been that day picked in a near-by 
cotton field, the whole process having been in sight of the 
visitors at the fair. 

Progress of the South. — This gave the public the idea 
that the raw cotton need not be sent to Massachusetts or 
to England in order to have it made up into cloth. The 
South has since gone into cotton manufacturing on a big 
scale, locating mills mainly along rivers and streams at 
points where power was cheap. 

The Piedmont region. — Some miles inland from the At- 
lantic Coast, the lowlands or plains rise abruptly into hilly 
ground and highlands. This upland district, called the Pied- 
mont region, stretches backwards to the Appalachian Moun- 
tains and north and south from Alabama to the Potomac 
River, varying in width from about fifty to one hundred and 
fifty or two hundred miles. Every river that comes down 
from the Appalachian Mountains through these highlands 
has at some point a rapid current, generally at the beginning 
of the Atlantic plain. There is thus a regular line of water- 
falls and rapids all along the Piedmont region, furnishing 
abundant water power. Large cities have been built all 
along this line, from Washington, D. C, to Tuscaloosa, 
Alabama — among them, Richmond, Lynchburg, and Dan- 
ville in Virginia; Asheville, Burlington, Cedar Falls, Char- 
lotte, Concord, East Durham, Greensboro, Kings Mountain, 
Roanoke Rapids, Spray, Salisbury, Winston-Salem, and 
Raleigh in North Carolina; Anderson, Chester, Columbia, 
Darlington, Greenville, Lockhart, Newberry, Ninety-Six, 



90 TEXTILES 

Rock Hill, Selma, Spartanburg, and Union Warrenville in 
South Carolina; Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Griffin, Jef- 
ferson, Lindale, Hogansville, and Gainesville in Georgia; 
and Birmingham, Huntsville, and Tuscaloosa in Alabama. 

In addition to the great cotton-manufacturing centers of 
the South just named, there ar^ numerous others which, 
though of less importance, nevertheless produce in the ag- 
gregate a large amount of cotton goods. It has been stated 
that there are so many cotton factories all along this Pied- 
mont region waterfall line that one can almost throw a 
stone from one mill to the next all the way from Alabama 
to Virginia. This is exaggeration, but it emphasizes the 
extent to which practically every stream that goes through 
the Piedmont region has been utilized. 

Qualities of southern production. — While, in the main, 
the South produces the coarser grades of cotton cloths, yet 
there are exceptions to this, just as there are exceptions to 
New England's producing the finer grades. For example, 
great quantities of coarse cotton duck, denims, seersuckers, 
drills, and sheetings are made far up in Maine, while some 
mills in Georgia and South Carolina produce fancy weaves, 
cotton damasks, fine shirtings, sateens, and fine white goods. 
None the less these are exceptional cases. It is to be noted, 
however, that there has been a gradual increase in the manu- 
facture of finer goods in the South, as there has likewise 
been a gradual change in New England in favor of produc- 
ing only the finer grades. 

Future of cotton manufacturing in the South. — It is hard 
to tell what the future will bring for these two sections of 
the country. It looks very much as if New England might 
some day have to fall behind the South, for the South has an 
advantage not only by being close to the cotton fields, but 
also by having cheap power and cheaper labor than that 
of the North. The New England states, however, still have 
the advantage in skilled labor, and in well-established and 



GEOGRAPHY OF THE COTTON TRADE 91 

widely known plants, and their power is not much more 
costly. Furthermore, for the present at least, New England 
is nearer dense cotton-using populations. Again, New 
England has the Boston and New York jobbing markets, a 
matter of high importance in the cotton textile business. 

Cotton manufacture in England. — The cotton industry 
of England is located mainly in Lancashire, the business 
center being Manchester. The business is more concen- 
trated in England than in other countries. South Lanca- 
shire is the spinning section and North Lancashire the 
weaving. Oldham, according to John Worrall's 191 1 Di- 
rectory, had 16,419,256 spindles and iy,2y2 looms in the 
mills lying in and around this town, and is, therefore, the 
greatest spinning center; next come Bolton, Manchester, 
Rochdale, Stockport, Preston, and Leigh. Burnley, with 
98,923 looms besides 581,426 spindles, is the greatest weav- 
ing center. Others of note are Blackburn, Preston, Accring- 
ton, Darwen, Colne, Manchester, Chorley, Bolton, and 
Rochdale. The finest yarns, especially those for sewing 
thread, are spun around Bolton and Manchester, Oldham 
being the largest producer of weaving yarns. Preston and 
Chorley produce the finer and lighter woven fabrics ; Black- 
burn, Darwen, and Accrington, shirtings, dhooties, and other 
goods much used in India; while Nelson and Colne make 
cloths from dyed yarn, and Bolton is distinguished for fine 
quiltings and fancy cotton dress goods. Burnley is the 
center of the great print-cloth manufacture. Nottingham, 
although not in Lancashire, is the center of the lace, net, 
curtain, and hosiery trade. 

Cotton manufacture in Germany. — The first factory was 
established in Germany in the latter part of the eighteenth 
century and contained three small spinning mules. The 
development of the industry was slow until the unification 
of the German Empire in 1870. Then the number of mills 
was doubled by the taking over of Alsace-Lorraine. Soon 



92 TEXTILES 

after came a setback, but the industry was again stimu- 
lated by the later higher tariffs, receiving special impetus 
about 1889. 

There are three well-defined centers of cotton manufac- 
turing in Germany — the Saxon, the Alsatian, and the West- 
phalian. The first section lies north of the mountains of 
Bohemia and contains some 3,000,000 spindles, the main 
factory towns being Chemnitz, Mittweida, Plauen, Plue, 
Werdau, and Crimmitschau. The second section lies in 
the extreme southeast of Germany, and contains some 
4,000,000 spindles, the chief factory towns being Mulhausen, 
Augsburg, Gebweiler, Logelback, Kampten, Unterhausen, 
and Lorrach. The third section lies in the northwest corner 
of the Prussian Rhine and Westphalian provinces; it has 
some 2,500,000 spindles, located mostly in Gronau, Rheine, 
Bocholt, Epe, Rheydt, Muchen-Gladbach, and Mulfort. 

Augsburg has the greatest number of spindles and looms 
and is the center for fine spinning ; Mulhausen is more noted 
for fine weaving and printing; Chemnitz for knit goods; 
Plauen for embroidered lace ; Cref eld for velvets ; Muchen- 
Gladbach for colored goods ; Barmen for braided work and 
ribbons; and Crimmitschau for vigogne yarn, etc. There 
is a little manufacture of machine-made lace at Leipzig and 
Dresden, and the latter place also manufactures artificial 
flowers. 

Cotton manufacture in India. — Cotton manufacturing in 
India dates from 1854, when a Parsee merchant named 
Cowasji Davur built a small mill at Tardeo, near Bombay. 
The industry has been more or less under the control of 
the Bombay Parsees ever since. One half of the mills 
are on Bombay Island, and nearly three-fourths in the Bom- 
bay Presidency. The principal cotton-mill towns of India 
are Bombay, Ahmedabad, Calcutta, and Cawnpore; while 
Madras, Nagpur, Sholapore, Agra, Broach, and Delhi all 
have some factories. Ahmedabad, in Bombay Presidency, 



GEOGRAPHY OF THE COTTON TRADE 93 

is the second largest mill town, and is becoming the fine 
goods center. The average mill in India has 25,000 spin- 
dles, and the average weave mill about 500 looms. There 
are twenty-one mills that contain over 50,000 spindles or 
1,000 looms each; the rest are decidedly smaller. The 
largest is the Jacob Sassoon mill at Parel, near Bombay, 
with its 92,840 spindles and 1,810 looms. The next largest 
number of spindles is in the Bengal mill at Calcutta, while 
the largest number of looms in a single mill is 2,015, in the 
Century Mill at Bombay. Two-thirds of the Indian spindles 
are of the ring spinning variety. Indian mills spin mainly 
lo's to 2o's. The piece goods produced are mainly shirtings 
and long cloths, dhooties and chadars, T cloths, and sheet- 
ings. Production of other than plain woven gray goods is 
small. 

Cotton manufacture in Russia. — The first power-driven 
cotton mill w^as established in Russia in 1840 by Ludwig 
Knoop, a young man who had learned the business at Man- 
chester. Fostered by an exceedingly high tariff, the indus- 
try has increased until Russia now ranks fourth among 
the cotton-manufacturing nations. In 191 1 there were 140 
cotton mills with 8,448,818 spindles and 220,000 looms, 
furnishing work to 400,000 operatives. Cotton manufac- 
turing is the most important manufacturing industry of 
modern Russia and employs over a third of the capital in- 
vested in all industrial establishments. The industry has 
more than doubled within twenty years. 

There are three well-defined centers of cotton manu- 
facturing in Russia : ( i ) The central, or Moscow district ; 
(2) the Baltic, or Petrograd district; and (3) the west- 
ern, or Polish district. The main cotton mill towns are 
Moscow, Vladimir, Piotrkov, Petrograd, Kostroma, Lodz, 
Tver, and Yaroslavl. Conditions are not favorable for 
the establishment of small mills; therefore the bulk of 
the industry is controlled by a few big firms. The Kren- 



• 94 TEXTILES 

holm Manufacturing Co. at the small town of Narva near 
Petrograd has one of the largest cotton mills in the 
world; in 1910 it had 472,500 spindles and 3,672 looms, and 
employed some 12,000 operatives. This mill was built in 
1856 and is operated by water power. Another mill at 
Yaroslavl, that of the Great Yaroslavl Manufacturing Co., 
has 261,886 spindles and 1,912 looms; one in Lodz, the 
Karl Sheibler Cotton Manufacturing Co., has 222,573 spin- 
dles and 4,848 looms. These are the three largest. Sewing 
thread is made mainly at Petrograd, knit goods at 
Girardof, and lace and curtains at Warsaw and Moscow. 
The annual production of the cotton goods industry in 
1910 was given as 729,807,743 pounds of yarn and 615,- 
576,261 yards of cloth. Some looms are made at Moscow, 
but the great bulk of the machinery is imported, mainly 
from England. 

Cotton manufacture in Japan. — The cotton spinning and 
weaving industry in Japan has grown remarkably during 
the past few decades. With the constant encouragement 
and assistance of the government, this industry doubled 
the capital invested in cotton mills between 1892 and 1902, 
and has become one of the most important industries of the 
country. 

The first power spinning mill in Japan was started in 
the year 1868 under the patronage of Prince Satsuma. 
Experts in spinning were engaged from England, and 
over 5,000 spindles and the other necessary machinery 
for a spinning mill were ordered from the same country. 
The growth of the industry was slow, however, until sev- 
eral years after the Restoration. In 1877 the government 
placed orders in England for machinery sufficient to start 
several small experimental spinning mills in different parts 
of the country. In 1882 the first cotton-spinning stock 
company was organized at Osaka with a mill equipment of 
10,500 spindles. Since then the development has been rapid. 



GEOGRAPHY OF THE COTTON TRADE 95 

By 1890 there were 277,895 spindles in the country and in 
191 1 there were over 2,000,000. 

Japan first attempted power weaving for the manufacture 
of cotton cloth in 1887. Up to the time of the Russo-Jap- 
anese War (1904- 1 905), the total number of power looms 
throughout the country did not exceed 5,000. The demand 
for cotton cloth for military purposes on the outbreak of 
the war with Russia, however, induced a number of cotton- 
spinning companies to install looms and engage in weaving. 
After the war came the demand for cotton goods in Man- 
churia, a market which had hitherto been almost entirely 
monopolized by American manufacturers. 

The number of looms operating in the cotton factories 
in Japan, as reported by the Japanese Cotton Spinners' 
Association, was 15,515 in 1910 and 17,202 in 191 1. Fac- 
tory production of cotton fabrics in Japan, however, is 
comparatively unimportant when compared with the house- 
hold industry. In small establishments and in the homes, 
cotton cloth is woven both on hand and power looms. 
These probably turn out more cloth than is woven in the 
factories. The fabrics produced are generally fourteen 
inches in width and put up in bolts of twelve yards. This 
quantity is sufficient for making an ordinary garment for 
men or women and is sold to the consumer by the bolt 
only. It is estimated that more than 100,000,000 bolts of 
this fourteen-inch cloth are produced yearly to supply the 
domestic market. 

Cotton manufacture in France. — France, being the coun- 
try nearest to England, was the first to adopt the processes 
invented by the English for the manufacture of cotton by 
machinery. Until Alsace with its 1,490,000 spindles and 
29,175 looms was wrested from her in 1871, France was, 
next to England, the leading countr}; m the manufacture of 
cotton. While the industry has never fully recovered from 
that blow, it has gradually developed, until it now con- 



96 TEXTILES 

sumes about a million bales of cotton annually. France 
ranks fifth in the manufacture but third in the export of 
cotton goods. 

There are three cotton-manufacturing sections in France : 
the northern, with Rouen as its center, making mainly- 
coarse goods; the northeastern, with Lille as the center, 
making fine goods ; and the eastern, with Epinal as the cen- 
ter, making medium tO' fine goods. There are, besides, a 
few mills scattered through the southern and central por- 
tions of the country. The principal spinning centers are 
Lille, Rouen, Roubaix, Epinal, Bolbeck, Barentin, and La- 
val, while the principal weaving centers are Rouen, Bol- 
beck, Tarare, Epinal, St. Die, Nancy, and Belfort. Lace 
making by machinery is carried on at Calais, Caudry, and 
St. Quentin. Some of the fine double yarns used in this 
industry are imported, but the bulk are now made in and 
around Lille, where the finest French yarns are spun. 
Tarare and Epinal are especially noted for the weaving and 
finishing of fine quality muslins; Roanne, for its colored 
cottons; Amiens, for its velvets; Cours for blankets; St. 
Chamond, for embroidery; St. Etienne, for ribbons; and 
Troyes, for hosiery. Cotton is largely used at Roubaix- 
Tourcoing in making mixed cotton and wool goods, at 
Lyons in making mixed cotton and silk goods, and at Vienne 
in the manufacture of shoddy goods. 

Uses of waste cottons in Europe. — In the process of 
manufacture of cotton there is, as has already been observed, 
considerable waste, called soft waste before weaving and 
hard waste when in the form of cloth. This waste con- 
sists of light, short, poor, cotton fibers thrown out from 
the cleaning, lapping, carding, and combing machines, im- 
perfect yarns from the spinning machinery, and the imper- 
fect cloths, ends, and rags from the looms. This waste is 
nowadays worked up into the form of cheaper fabrics. 
The utilization of cotton waste has come to be a consider- 



GEOGRAPHY OF THE COTTON TRADE 97 

able business, especially in Europe, although there are be- 
ginnings even in this country. Germany and England lead 
the world in the production of cotton goods from mill 
wastes, and to these countries most of the waste from 
American mills is sent. Germany has been most successful 
in this field, and German inventors have made entire sets 
of machinery fitted solely for using wastes, from which 
they produce cotton blankets, wadding, batting, low-priced 
shirtings, and especially trouserings. The poorer classes of 
Germany look to this class of goods for their clothing needs. 
Belgium also uses considerable American cotton-mill waste 
of the poorest grades. 



CHAPTER VIII 
DISTRIBUTION AND PRICES OF COTTON GOODS 

Most of the material in this chapter has been drawn 
from the Report of the United States Tariff Board of 1912 
on the cotton schedule. This Board made a most exhaus- 
tive and careful survey of the conditions of the business 
in this country with respect to cotton and cotton goods. 
No better treatment of the subject has yet been printed. 

Processes preliminary to distribution. — In most cases 
when cotton cloth leaves a textile mill it is not m the shape 
in which it ultimately reaches the consumer. Ginghams 
and other goods made of dyed yarns, as well as cloths which 
are retailed unbleached, such as certain kinds of duck, 
sheetings, etc., leave the mill ready to be placed on the mar- 
ket. The great bulk of cotton fabrics, however, reach the 
consumer either bleached or colored by one or more proc- 
esses of finishing, such as printing, dyeing, mercerizing, 
etc. A number of textile mills have their own finishing 
departments in which the goods are bleached, dyed, or 
printed, and otherwise finished for the market. In most 
cases, however, the textile mills do not go beyond the proc- 
ess of weaving, leaving the finishing to be done in special 
finishing mills. 

Most finishing mills finish goods on contract for con- 
verters or for textile miHs which have their own selling 
agencies. Only a few large concerns combine under one 
control the business of finishing, converting, and distribut- 
ing cotton goods. 

98 



COTTON GOODS 99 

The converter. — The converter is an important factor 
in the cotton goods trade in this country ; it is he who takes 
the initiative and assumes the risk not only of placing fin- 
ished goods on the market, but frequently also of ordering 
gray goods. His method of operation is as follows : Hav- 
ing studied the various styles of goods in demand in this 
and other countries, he selects a number of styles which 
he thinks are likely to prove popular, and places orders 
with textile mills for cloths of a given construction in the 
gray. The order is usually placed after a number of mills 
have been asked to submit bids on samples furnished them 
by the converter or have submitted samples made up for 
the converter according to specifications drawn up by him. 

American mills generally require a minimum order of 
about 30,000 yards, including ''tailings" (short lengths) 
and seconds, which must not exceed ten per cent, of the 
entire quantity contracted for. A reduction of five per 
cent, from the contract price is allowed for seconds. The 
contract usually calls for delivery of goods in installments 
extending over a period of from three to six months. 
Payment is made within ten days after each delivery on 
the contract. 

Having placed his order for gray goods, the converter 
calls for bids from various finishing mills, and enters into 
an arrangement for the season with those offering the best 
terms and prices for the different finishes called for. As 
the goods are turned out by the textile mills, they are stored 
at the converter's risk either in the mill's warehouse .or in 
the warehouses of the various finishing plants, subject to 
the converter's orders. From time to time, following the 
demand of the trade, the converter orders certain quantities 
of cloth held for his account to be finished. The minimum 
quantity finished at a time is usually 400 yards for bleached 
goods, 400 yards for dyed goods, and 7,500 yards for 
printed cloths. Deliveries are made in from two to six 



loo TEXTILES 

weeks, and payment within thirty days after the delivery 
of the goods. During the rush season from December to 
February a longer period for delivery is required, which 
may extend to eight or ten weeks. 

Both the gray goods mill and the finisher thus appear in 
the role of contractors, assuming no trade risks and doing 
business practically on a cash basis, while the converter, 
though not engaged directly in the process of production, 
assumes the initiative and the risks which in other lines of 
industry are generally borne by the manufacturer. It 
should be stated, however, that in staple lines, such as 
standard gray print cloths, sheetings, lawns, etc., mills fre- 
quently produce on their own initiative in order to keep 
their plants busy, and in such cases may stock up ahead 
of the "spot" demand. 

The jobber. — Whether the goods are placed on the mar- 
ket by the converter or by the mill, they are, as a rule, 
handled in either case through the jobbing trade. Goods 
that are used by the cutting-up trade (manufacturers of 
shirts, shirtwaists, etc.) are, however, generally bought 
direct from the mill. It is also a growing practice among 
the large department stores to dispense with the jobber by 
buying direct from the mill. The jobber maintains a selling 
force not only at the place where he is doing business, but 
also by traveling over a large area soliciting trade among the 
retailers through whom the goods reach the ultimate con- 
sumer. 

When sales are made. — The manufacturers and convert- 
ers put out their lines and make their sales to the jobbers, 
beginning in May. Deliveries commence in November, con- 
tinuing all through the winter and early spring, sometimes 
extending into April or May of the following year, the 
jobbers calling for their goods in accordance with the de- 
mands made upon them by the retailers. The jobbers make 
most of their sales to the retailers in September and Octo- 



COTTON GOODS loi 

ber, but begin to deliver in January and continue into the 
summer, the retailers calling for the goods in accordance 
with their requirements. These terms of delivery do not 
apply to heavy cotton goods which are used principally in the 
winter, such as dometts, flannels, quilts, etc. These goods 
are generally ordered by the jobbers between October and 
December for delivery in June, and are purchased by re- 
tailers from March to May for delivery during August and 
September, most of the goods being sold to the consumer 
from August to January. This so-called fall trade is not 
to be compared in volume with the general spring and sum- 
mer trade. 

Location of finishers and distributors. — Location of con- 
verting houses. — The offices and warehouses of the con- 
verters and commissionmen dealing in cotton cloths are 
generally found in and near the cotton-manufacturing cen- 
ters; the converters and commissionmen also maintain 
offices, usually in the great trade buying centers, as, for 
example. New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. 

Location of jobbing houses. — The jobbing of cotton 
goods is associated with the dry goods jobbing trade. The 
largest centers are New York, Chicago, and St. Louis. 
After these come Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, St. Paul, 
Kansas City, Denver, Atlanta, San Francisco, Cincinnati, 
Cleveland, Memphis, Dallas, Milwaukee, and a great num- 
ber of other cities. 

Retailing. — The retailing of cotton goods takes place in 
every city and village in the land. The amount sold varies 
according to the demand of the people. No figures are 
available showing the amount per capita purchased of each 
of the principal cotton manufactures, but it is known that 
over twenty-five pounds of raw cotton per capita are needed 
every year to supply America's present demand for cotton 
goods. 

flxpense of manufacturing, finishing, and distributing. 



102 TEXTILES 

Manufacturing costs. — The costs of manufacturing cotton 
fabric include the costs of raw cotton, labor, power, mill 
expenses, depreciation in value of plant due to wear, re- 
pairs, insurance, taxes, and interest on capital invested in 
the mill. To the total of these expenses the manufacturer 
seeks to add something as profit. 

Converters' expenses. — The converter also has his ex- 
penses, not the least of which is the risk which accom- 
panies his undertaking when he puts in an order for pat- 
terns or styles that may not prove so popular as he sup- 
poses. His price includes the cost of the goods as they come 
from the manufacturer, plus the total cost of his labor, 
storage, and other expenses, plus such profit as he may be 
able to obtain in the markets or from the jobbers to whom 
he usually sells. As pointed out already, the converter's 
expenses may include charges for finishing processes which 
are true manufacturing costs, and for transportation to 
and from the finishing mills. The percentage added by 
the converter to the manufacturer's price v/ill vary, then, 
according to the amount of work which remains to be done 
upon the cloth. 

Jobbers' expenses. — The usual margin added by the job- 
ber to his purchase is from ten to thirty per cent., most of 
the business being done on a fifteen to t^yenty per cent, 
basis. As will be seen from the table, however, instances 
are not uncommon of jobbers adding between thirty and 
forty per cent., while in a few instances the margin is less 
than ten per cent. These figures cover all the expense of 
marketing, so that there is here no indication of the net 
profit. 

Costs of retailing. — The retailer, in his turn, adds to the 
jobber's price anywhere from one- third to two-thirds. As 
will be seen from the prices quoted in the table, retailers 
sometimes must be content with a smaller margin, any- 
where from ten to twenty per cent., although the margin 



COTTON GOODS 103 

occasionally may reach one hundred per cent and more. The 
large department stores are in a position to buy direct 
from the mill, and, in most instances, while somewhat re- 
ducing the retail price, combine the jobber's profit with their 
own. Where smaller additions to prices are made, they are 
usually coincident with frequent turnovers, so the annual 
profits may be as large as on cloths sold at a higher ad- 
vance over the jobber's price but handled to a less extent. 
Of course the margin added by the retailer to the price he 
pays does not represent the net profit to the retailer, as 
out of this he must meet his selling expenses, which are 
greater for each yard of cloth than they are in the whole- 
sale trade. As recently as fifteen years ago, thfe margin 
added by the retailers used to be much less, ranging from 
twenty-five to forty per cent, but the advent of the depart- 
ment store with its modern methods of marketing, ex- 
pensive advertising, free delivery, and many other recent 
features, has considerably advanced the cost of retailing. 
The small retailer, so far as he can, must follow the stan- 
dard set by the large department stores, and add such of 
these various features as are within his means. 

Variation in prices. — Prices on given commodities are 
not maintained at the same level throughout the season. 
The retailer gets his regular prices until the month of May, 
when they begin to be reduced. In June, as the season 
wears on, they are cut considerably to prevent goods re- 
maining on the shelves when the season is over. July 
and August constitute the ''cleaning up" season, when white 
goods reach their lowest retail price level in the year. 

Custom in retail prices. — The most important factor af- 
fecting the prices of cotton goods at every stage of dis- 
tribution in the American market is the custom of charging 
"set" prices in the retail trade. The most common retail 
prices for different kinds of cotton cloths are 5, 7^, 8^, 
10, 12}^, 15, 19, 25, 29, 35, 39, 59, 65, and 75 cents a yard. 



I04 



TEXTILES 



Deviations from these prices seldom occur, save in case of 
a special sale. It is only in the last few years that the 29 
and 39 cent prices have been introduced. Little of the 
cotton goods is sold above 50 cents a yard, except in wide 
goods, such as cloths 40 inches wide and more, heavy up- 
holstery goods, corduroys, velveteens, etc. Corresponding 
to these retail prices are the prices at which jobbers sell to 
retailers, and those at which they purchase from the manu- 
facturers. 

Range of customary prices. — The following table gives 
the prices which the retailer and jobber pay for cotton 
goods selling to the consumer at the customary retail prices. 
In addition to the average price charged by the jobber there 
is given his lowest and his highest price to retailers. There 
are given in the same manner, not only the average price, 
but also the highest and lowest figures obtained by the 
converters, or by the manufacturers who sell direct to job- 
bers. 

Prices of Cotton Cloths in Cents Per Yard 



Retail 


Jobbers' Prices 


Manufacturers' Prices 


Prices 


Average 


Low 


High 


Average 


Low 


High 


5 

7.5 
10 

12.5 

15 

19 

25 

29 

35 
50 


4 

5 

7.5 
8.5 
10.5 
12.5 
16.5 
19 
25 
35 


3-25 

4.25 

7.5 

8.5 

9-5 

12.5 

15 

16.5 

19 

32.5 


4 
6 
8 

10 
II 

13 
18 
22 
26 
37 


5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 


3-75 
4.75 
6.25 

7.75 
9 
10.5 

13.5 
16 

20 
27-5 


2.65 

4.25 
6.25 
6.25 

8 

10 

11.5 
14.5 
14.5 
27.5 


4.1 

6 
7.5 

7.5 
10.25 

II-5 
16 

20.4 

22.5 

33 



Retailer's price. — To illustrate the connection between 
prices at the different stages of distribution, let us take a 
fabric retailing at 25 cents a yard. The usual price which 



COTTON GOODS 105 

a retailer will pay for this cloth is 16.5 cents. If he has to 
encounter considerable competition and if he caters to a 
discriminating public, he may be obliged to get a higher 
grade of cloth for which he will have to pay 17.5 cents, 
and sometimes as much as 18.5 cents. On the other hand, 
if conditions are favorable to him, he will try to save 
on his purchase price by getting cloths at a lower price, 
paying as little as 15 cents and, in exceptional cases, 14.5 
cents or less. Whether he pays 2 cents more than the cus- 
tomary 16.5-cent price, or 2 cents less, he will still continue 
to retail his cloth at the set price of 25 cents. Within certain 
limitations, therefore, competition between the retailers will 
take the form not of selling the same cloth at a lower price 
but of offering better goods at the same set price. 

Jobber s Price. — This custom reacts upon the jobbing 
trade, and, in turn, upon the policy of the producer. The 
jobber knows that a fabric that can command a 25-cent 
retail price can be sold by him only within certain price 
limits. His price must not exceed, as a rule, 17.5 cents, 
and for exceptionally attractive cloths 18.5 cents, or the 
retailer will refuse to buy it; and it need not cost below 
16.5 cents in ordinary times, since at that price it will yield 
the retailer his usual rate of profit. If the jobber has to 
encounter considerable competition, he will handle cloths 
which he can offer to the retailer at as low as 15 cents per 
yard. He need not go below that price unless he can make 
a considerable cut, say to 13.5 cents, in order to enable 
the retailer to sell at the next lower set price, namely 19 
cents a yard. 

Producer's price. — With these conditions facing him, the 
jobber has set limits for the price which he will pay to 
the producer. This will range from 11.5 to 16 cents as 
the extreme limits. Within these limits, the price will, be 
affected by the same causes which regulate the jobber's 
price to the retailer; that is to say, by the quality of the 



io6 TEXTILES 

goods and the character of the trade catered to. The pre- 
vaiHng price paid by jobbers for goods of this grade is 13.5 
cents. 

Effects of the customary prices on production. — The 
existence of these set prices reacts not only upon the price 
policy but also upon the character of the production of cot- 
ton mills and converters. Knowing the price limits within 
which sales of commodities of certain grades can be ef- 
fected, the mills adjust their production to suit these con- 
ditions. If a mill produces a cloth which it could sell at a 
profit for, say, 11 cents, it will, under favorable conditions, 
charge anywhere from 11.5 to 16 cents. The reason for 
this is that the producer knows that 11 cents is too high a 
price to the jobber to enable the cloth to retail at 19 cents. 
If there was no set retail price, as is largely the case in 
foreign countries, the cloth under these conditions would 
be sold by the mill at 11 cents and retailed at 20 cents. 
But knowing that the next retail price is 25 cents, the mill 
realizes that if it sold the cloth at 11 cents, it would merely 
enable the jobber or the retailer to make an extra profit, 
since no matter what price the jobber pays within the limits 
of 1 1.5 to 16 cents, the article will reach the consumer at 
25 cents a yard. The producer will therefore charge a price 
nearer to 13.5 cents, or anywhere from that to 16 cents, if 
the cloth is of an especially attractive design meeting with 
little or no competition. 

On the other hand, if the cost of production should rise, 
the producer cannot increase the price of his fabric beyond 
the limit set for the 25-cent cloth, as just explained. Should 
the cost of production change to an extent that would re- 
quire an increase of price beyond this limit, the producer's 
price would either have to be increased beyond the limit, 
with the ultimate increase of the price to the consumer to 
29 cents, or, more frequently, to 35 cents; or, if the jobber 
insisted that the cloth must be retailed at 25 cents, which 



COTTON GOODS 107 

is more frequently the case, the only alternative would be 
to lower the quality of the cloth by reducing the number of 
threads to the inch or by effecting some other change that 
would not catch the attention of the average consumer. 
This practice is common, and a typical situation is described 
in the following extract from an article in the Textile Manu- 
facturer's Journal of November 22, 19 10, commenting upon 
the situation created by the high price of cotton which pre- 
vailed at that time : 

The sale of good-sized quantities of subcount prints emphasizes 
a feature in this division of the trade which may develop into 
sizable proportions. Demand for this character of merchandise 
seems to have had its inception and to have depended for its con- 
tinuance upon the apparent need of goods at a price by' the jobber. 
This status applies not only to prints but also to other classes of 
textiles. The development of such requests, however, has probably 
been greyer in the case of the staple prints than in almost any other 
line. . . . Therefore, in order to produce business in volume, it 
was necessary either to reduce the price of existing qualities or to 
bring out new lines which by reason of their cheaper construction 
could be sold at cheaper prices. Of course, the former plan could not 
be pursued in view of the high price for raw cotton and printed cloth, 
and it was necessary to resort to the expedient of a lower cost of 
fabric. 

What has been said with reference to the twenty-five- 
cent grades applies likewise to other grades. Each retail 
price given in the preceding table has corresponding job- 
ber's and producer's prices which are ordinarily paid in the 
trade, but from which deviations occur both up and down 
within certain limits, according to the condition of the mar- 
ket. In the case of the retailer, competition at a given price- 
grade is confined to quality. In the case of the jobber and 
the producer, however, there is competition in price for a 
given grade within certain limits. As soon, however, as the 
price limit for the grade is reached, competition again takes 
the form of an adjustment of quality to a given price rather 
than of fluctuation in price. 



io8 



TEXTILES 



To illustrate further the distribution of the retail price 
among the dealers and the producers, there follows a table 

Prices of Various Kinds or Cotton Goods 



Articles 



Quilts 

Crochet 

Marseilles 

Satin 

Underwear 

Men's Balbriggan. 

(I a 

ii a 

Boys' " '. 

Men's Fleece-lined 

Ribbed 

Ladies' " '.!!!! 
<( II 

(( n 

(( « 

Hosiery: 

Ladies' 

II 

tc 
li 

Men's 

(( 

Children's 



Retail 
Price 



Each 
^1.50 
3.00 
3.00 



Suit 

.70 

1. 00 

1.50 

2.00 

.70 

1. 00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

.15 

•25 

• so 
1. 00 



Pair 
•25 

•35 
•50 

•75 
1. 00 

.15 
•25 
•35 
•50 
.12I 

.15 
•25 



Jobbers' 

Average 

Price 



Each 
)I ,00 
2.00 
2.00 



Doz. 

7.00 

8.50 

11.00 

15.00 

5-50 
8.00 

7-50 
8.50 
8.25 

13-50 
1.50 
2. 10 
4.00 
8.50 



Doz. Pairs 
2.25 
3.00 

4-25 
7.85 
8.50 

115 
2.00 
2.50 
4.80 
1.05 
1.50 
2.15 



Manfrs.' 

Average 

Price 



Each 

» -73 
1.40 
1.30 



Doz. 

517 

6.81 

8.00 

12. 22 

4-23 

6.42 

6. 10 
7.17 
6.50 
10.50 
1.30 
1-73 
3-25 
7.00 



Doz. Pairs 
1.85 
2.40 
3.60 
6.50 
7.00 

•95 
1.85 
2.00 
4.00 

.823^ 
1. 00 
1.80 



Average 

Production 

Cost 



Each 
5 .67 
1. 18 
1. 00 



Doz. 
4.86 

5-37 

7^54 

10. 21 

3^68 

4-53 
5-68 
6*. 24 

5.13 
7.10 

i^3i 
1. 41 

2.15 
4.70 



Doz. Pairs 



75 
20 

25 

65 

75 

.88 

1.60 

1.70 

2.84 

•77 
.88 

175 



COTTON GOODS 109 

showing the retail price of various made-up goods, the 
jobbers' prices to the retailer, and the manufacturers' prices 
to the jobbers. Another column is added showing average 
costs of production to the manufacturer; i. e., the cost of 
raw material, mill expense, labor, depreciation, interest on 
capital invested, and selling expense. The differences be- 
tween the production costs and the manufacturers' selling 
prices show the manufacturers' profits. 

The table does not show the margin of true profit that 
the retailer, the jobber, or the manufacturer receives. What 
is shown is simply the gross margin within which most con- 
cerns do business, some successfully, others not. Several 
factors affect the margin of pure profit, such, for example, 
as the annual turnover, the costs of doing business, the 
losses or leaks incident to the business, and so on. 

Conditions affecting profits. — If a dealer can sell his 
goods rapidly and does not need to store large quantities 
for long times, thus not keeping his capital locked up, he 
is likely to get a pure profit at the margins fixed by the 
trade. Hence both jobbers and retailers buy their goods 
with the aim of selling them quickly, "from hand to mouth 
buying," as it is sometimes called. Goods that can be 
turned a dozen times a year, yielding a net profit of two 
cents on the dollar, make a better business than goods yield- 
ing four cents with only three or four turnovers per year. 
Goods that need not be carried in stock at all, those that 
can be ordered from the manufacturers and then imme- 
diately reconsigned to the retail merchant or the consumer, 
or goods that can be shipped direct from the manufacturer 
to the retailer or consumer, may be handled with advantage 
at a very small margin of pure profit on each sale ; the gross 
margin may be less in most instances also. In such cases, 
expenses for handling, storage damage, risks from fire and 
other disaster are minimized or entirely eliminated. 

The costs of doing business vary according to location, 



no TEXTILES 

the efficiency of the salespeople and of the system, the 
service requirements, and the amount of needful handling, 
storage, etc. Very efficient systems cut the expense down to 
a point that leaves a good profit margin, while other stores 
are not able to make any pure profit at all. Efficient sales- 
manship and economical system and service are the primary 
conditions of success in this matter. 

The losses and leaks attendant upon a business have never 
been entirely eliminated; their amount, however, depends 
largely upon the system of management in the store. It 
may not be desirable to try to get rid of all such leaks, since 
the cost of such extra vigilance would perhaps more than 
counterbalance the losses prevented. Nevertheless, the main 
difference between a profit-making store and one that is run- 
ning behind is often in the attention to such little details 
as breakage, spoilage, leakage, and slovenliness. 

In manufacturing there are differences in the costs of 
production which seem almost unbelievable to outsiders. 
Differences in location, in power, labor, raw material, and 
machinery costs, in management, in secret processes, in the 
use of patented machines, in advertising and selling ability, 
and in many other respects explain why some manufac- 
turers go into bankruptcy, while others, selling in the open 
market at the same prices, become opulent. 



CHAPTER IX 
LINEN 

Ancient use of linen. — Linen is probably the textile that 
has been longest in use. Egypt and China used it thou- 
sands of years ago. It was the common textile of the people 
of Bible times, and was fashionable during the Middle 
Ages. "Purple and fine linen" represented regal splendor 
among the ancient orientals. In the Middle Ages linen 
underwear was thought to be too magnificent save for kings. 
Wonderful examples of early hand-wrought laces, em- 
broideries, and tapestries in linen hundreds of years old are 
still to be found in the great museums of Europe. 

Source of Linen. — Linen, a fiber obtained from the flax 
plant, is for the most part produced in central and northern 
Russia, Belgium, Holland, Ireland, France, Egypt, and 
northern Italy. Russia produces the most; Belgium, the 
best. Small amounts are produced in Canada and in Michi- 
gan, Minnesota, and Oregon. Large quantities of flax are 
raised only for the seed in other parts of the world, such as 
the Dakotas, Minnesota, northwestern Canada, India, Ar- 
gentine, and southern Russia, but no means has yet been 
discovered for the utilization of both seed and fiber from 
the same flax, so as to get excellent results from both. 
If fiber is desired, the plants must be harvested before the 
seed is fully ripe ; if seed is wished the plants must be 
allowed to grow imtil the fiber is too coarse, harsh, and 
woody for fine linens. The straw that comes from the flax 
in the Northwest is utilized in making very satisfactory 

III 



112 TEXTILES 

binding twine and rope. No doubt it could be used also 
for coarse fabrics or bagging. 

Necessary factors of production. — Linen is a highly serv- 
iceable fiber, but the amount of hand labor required for its 
production is so great and the expenses so high that it is 
produced only where special advantages are offered in the 
way of cheap labor, special qualities of flax-producing soils, 
or unusual facilities for removing the fibers from the stalks. 
These advantages in some measure exist in each of the 
above-named countries and states. The growing of flax- 
seed has been found profitable because of the high prices 
paid for the seed by manufacturers of linseed oil, as oil 
especially useful in making paints and varnishes. None 
other has yet been discovered which better combines with 
paint pigments or with varnish gums, or which dries so 
well after applying. It has therefore no competing imita- 
tions or adulterants, and no substitute is practicable save 
possibly corn oil. Linseed oil is utilized to the practical 
exclusion of other oils in the manufacture of linoleum, oil- 
cloth, oilsilk, patent and enameled leather, and printers' ink. 
It is also used for the manufacture of waterproof fabrics 
not made of rubber, for enameling wood-pulp buttons, for 
making opaque window shades, for a few medicinal pur- 
poses, for the making of soap (especially valuable for 
washing woodwork), and for various minor purposes. 

The oil is pressed out of the seed in heavy presses like 
those used for the cottonseed oil. The cake remaining after 
pressing is a valuable stock food. 

Character of the flax fiber. — The flax fiber is a slender, 
straight, tube-like thread of from twelve to thirty-six inches 
long, averaging about twenty inches. The fiber is found in 
a thin layer running up and down the stalk of the plant 
immediately under the bark. It is considerably stronger 
than that of cotton, but is more easily injured by bleaching 
and chemicals. The linen fiber, like that of cotton, is com- 




Drying flax straw before removing seed. 




A field of flax. 



LINEN 113 

posed of almost pure cellulose. Hence like cotton it is 
attacked and burned up when exposed to acids. 

Linen fibers range from white to bluish gray in color. 
The best flax in the world, that grown in or near the city 
of Courtrai in Belgium, is cream-colored. The coloring 
of the fiber, however, is probably due rather to the methods 
of treatment after it is gathered than to the variety of the 
plant or of the soil upon which it grew. 

Flax growing. — The flax intended for linen is grown in 
the following manner : In northern climates it is sowed in 
the spring on ground prepared as for wheat or rye, a good 
deep, well-plowed soil being requisite. No particular care 
is then needed until harvesting, which comes in the latter 
part of July or in August. The plants, pulled up, roots and 
all, by hand, are tied in bundles and left to dry in shocks 
in the field. 

Why flax must be pulled. — The pulling of linen flax by 
hand, instead of cutting it with a reaper or mower as in 
the case of farm grains, is necessary because : 

1. Pulling the plants permits the full length of the fibers 
to be saved, whereas if the plants were cut off some inches 
from the ground, a usable part of every fiber would be cut 
off. 

2. The flax fiber in the plant tapers to a point at both 
the upper and the lower ends. Cutting the plant would 
remove this lower taper, leaving a blunt end, which would 
prevent the fiber from being used in fine threads or fabrics. 

3. Furthermore, the flax straw cures better and more 
evenly when the entire stalk is intact. No stubble is left 
in the ground and the flax shocks are not kept wet at the 
base by the ground water which comes out freely from the 
stubble of cut flax. The curing or drying of the flax is 
therefore facilitated. 

Flax threshing or "rippling." — After the flax is prop- 
erly dried, it is threshed. The bundles of flax, instead of 



114 TEXTILES 

being fed into a machine like wheat bundles, are simply 
held up against revolving cylinders that beat off the seed 
heads; whereupon the bundles are withdrawn and thrown 
back into a pile. The older hand method, one still common 
in some parts of the world, is to draw the flax bundles 
across rakes or boards filled with spikes just far enough 
apart to let the flax stalks through but too close to let the 
flax heads follow. In this way the heads containing the 
seeds are pulled off, a process called "rippling." 

Retting. — Next the flax is bound in convenient bundles, 
in preparation for ''retting." Retting breaks down the solid 
contents of the flax stalks, starting fermentation and rot- 
ting. In fact the word to ret comes from, and means the 
same as, to rot. This process, when successful, causes the 
solid matter to fall away readily and easily from the fibers ; 
the color of the fibers is then good, and the strength and 
luster of each fiber unimpaired. However, it is easy to 
over-ret the flax ; hence the process needs careful watching, 
for over-retting dulls the luster while under-retting leaves 
some green color in the fiber. 

Retting is a bacteriological process. The plant structure 
is attacked by a certain germ, much as a mass of dough is 
acted upon by yeast bacteria. Flax when retting must be 
watched as carefully as rising bread-dough; otherwise it 
will go too far or else stop too soon. This process is per- 
formed either in October and November or during the fol- 
lowing spring and summer. There are at least four well- 
developed methods : dew retting, as practiced in Russia ; 
pool retting, a common method in Ireland and also in Rus- 
sia; running- water retting, the method employed in the 
celebrated Courtrai district in Belgium on the River Lys; 
and chemical retting. 

Dew retting. — Dew retting consists in spreading the flax 
plants over grassy ground and letting them remain thus for 
from two weeks to four weeks. In that time decay sets in, 



LINEN 115 

the hard parts of the stalks give way, and the fibers may 
easily be taken out. 

Pool retting. — Pool retting is similar in principle to dew 
retting except that the process is considerably shortened by 
immersing the bundles of flax in pools of standing water, 
retting pools, or bogs. Ten days is usually sufficient to com- 
plete the process by this method. 

Retting in running water. — Retting in running water, the 
method used in the Courtrai district, is similar to the pool 
retting method, except that the flax bundles are immersed 
and tied down in the running water of the streams or rivers. 

Chemical retting. — Chemical retting has been tried at 
various times. Special apparatus has been built, patents 
obtained, and success promised, but as yet no chemical 
method has proved sufficiently valuable to lead large num- 
bers of flax growers to invest in the machines required by 
the process. 

Effects of retting. — The quality of the flax and its color 
are in great measure dependent upon the retting. Dew 
retting is rather uneven in its effects; hence the linen fiber 
from this process is usually the poorest in appearance al- 
though frequently the strongest in wear. Pool retting 
usually yields a dull gray or steel-gray product. Stream 
retting, as practiced on the River Lys in Belgium, is most' 
successful, but it seems that in no other stream in the 
world can the same results be obtained. Chemists have 
analyzed the water of the Lys to see if they could discover 
the secret of its value, but so far they have been unable to 
find the particular quality involved. 

The properties of Belgian waters for retting are so well 
known that flax is sent thither from France, Holland, and 
even from South America. From shore to shore the River 
Lys is crowded for many miles with weighted frames hold- 
ing flax bundles under water. 

Breaking. — After the retting is completed, the bundles 



ii6 TEXTILES 

are removed from the water or are raked up from the 
ground, and then thoroughly dried. The flax stalks are then 
run through a machine called a ''breaker." Here the rotted 
wooden matter in the stalks is thoroughly broken up and 
crumbled, by which means the fibers are gradually loosened 
and set free. 

Scutching. — The breaking is followed by scutching; this 
is done by a machine which even more thoroughly beats 
the broken wood and pulp portions out of the fibers, leaving 
them fairly free from impurities. 

Hackling. — The fiber is now ready for hackling or comb- 
ing. This process is still usually done by hand, although 
machines have been invented for the purpose. This simple 
process consists in taking a handful of scutched fibers, 
throwing them over a fine-toothed iron comb, and drawing 
them through several times. Sometimes several sizes of 
combs are used, beginning with coarse and ending with fine 
teeth. In this process all impurities, loose fibers, short 
fibers, uneven fibers, and so on, are combed out. The resi- 
due is fine linen fiber ready to be spun into linen yarn or 
thread. The combings are called ''tow." The fibers to be 
spun are generally classified according to length and color, 
and then laid aside in orderly piles so that they may not 
become tangled. Hackling demands much skill. An inex- 
perienced person would be likely to make two serious mis- 
takes; he would fail to remove all of the impurities, and 
he would waste much of the good fiber. 

Large amount of labor required. — Throughout the proc- 
ess just described, from the gathering of the plants at 
harvest time to the final combing or hackling, hand labor is 
continually required, and care is necessary at every stage to 
preserve the best quality. Labor that while cheap is yet 
experienced is absolutely essential to the production of ex- 
cellent linen fabrics. It has been estimated that it costs 
about $375 to work up $500 worth of flax from the straw 



LINEN 117 

stage into yarn. It takes about $375 more to transform this 
yarn into brown linen, and about $250 more for bleaching. 
That is to say, $500 worth of raw flax makes about $1,500 
worth of linen, most of this addition in value being the cost 
of labor. 

Spinning. — The spinning of linen is much like that of 
cotton and wool. The fibers are run through spreading 
machines that divide the bunches of fibers evenly, and then 
into drawing frames much like those used for cotton fiber, 
and finally into the spinning frames. Fine threads must be 
spun wet, and the temperature of the spinning rooms must 
be kept at about 120 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent break- 
age and to get even yarns. Large or coarse sizes of yarn 
may be spun dry. 

Qualities of linen yarn. — Linen yarn and the fabrics into 
which it is made are characterized by a high degree of 
smoothness, freshness, strength, and the quality of improv- 
ing in appearance with laundering and wear. The color 
varies. That which is whitest is not by any means the 
strongest, but good fiber is always lustrous. Linen is not 
so elastic or pliable as cotton. It is rather leathery in 
feeling. 

Linen finishing. — Linen is finished in various ways, just 
as is cotton. These finishes will be considered in a sepa- 
rate chapter. Linen does not bleach as readily nor does 
it dye as easily as cotton. Bleaches, unless very carefully 
applied, are likely to injure linen. On this account several 
grades of bleaching such as ''full," "three-quarter," "half,"" 
and "quarter bleaches" are common. The whitest linen, 
that is, the full-bleached, is likely to. be the weakest. 

Irish linen. — Irish linen is the best-known and the most 
valuable in American markets. A good deal of the flax is 
raised elsewhere, but is manufactured in Ireland. Belfast, 
the center of Irish linen manufacture, imports fiber in con- 
siderable quantities, especially from Courtrai and other 



ii8 TEXTILES 

parts of the European continent. The Irish linen workers 
bleach linens with the least injury to the fiber. This is 
perhaps due in part to the favorable climate and to the 
slower methods of bleaching employed. 

European linens. — French, German, and Scotch linens 
rank next to the Irish. French linens are the finest and 
whitest, but are also the most fragile and hardest to keep 
in good, clean condition. Scotch linens are generally very 
good medium qualities. German linens range from very 
good to very poor, but average fairly good. Austria also 
produces a little of the linen that finds its way to America. 

Adulteration of linen. — Linen is now often so adulter- 
ated with cotton in "union goods" that the substitutions or 
adulterations are hard to detect until the material has seen 
service. Even a great linen-manufacturing center like Bel- 
fast imports every year large quantities of cotton fiber and 
yarn. These cottons are worked up into the linen textile 
goods to the ultimate damage of the fabric. The methods 
of detecting these adulterations will be described later. 

Uses of linen. — Linen is now used in the production of 
sewing thread, shoe thread, book-binder's thread, fish lines, 
seine twine, better grades of wrapping twine, handkerchiefs, 
toweling, table linen, linen damasks, dress goods, knit un- 
derwear, and, to a limited extent, collars, cuffs, and shirt 
bosoms. The linen collar, like the linen shirt, is passing 
out of existence. Bed linen that is really linen is not fre- 
quently found among the masses. Fine cotton has taken 
the place of linen in uncounted instances. A hundred years 
ago linen fabrics were made in greater yardage than all 
other fabrics together. Seventy years ago linen still led 
although it did not then make up more than half of all 
textiles. Now linen occupies third place, and it seems prob- 
able that it is destined to Continue in this position unless 
some means can be invented to cheapen the costs of produc- 
tion. Such processes have been announced from time to 



LINEN 119 

time, but so far they have affected neither the market sup- 
plies nor the prices of linens. When cheap cotton was made 
possible by the invention of the cotton gin, linen had to 
yield its position. 

Few changes in fashions in linens. — Linen is a fabric 
which in its present uses does not change in fashion very 
frequently. For example, certain designs have for years 
been standard in table linen, among them the snowdrop, 
the shamrock, the maidenhair fern, the rose, stripes, 
checks, and polka dots. Hems and hemstitching constitute 
the usual means of finishing at the edges. Lace edges, once 
common, have practically passed out. Certain fashions, 
such as hand hemstitching, drawn work, hand weaving, and 
so on, are to be noted; yet all of these are so cleverly imi- 
tated by machinery that the difference can hardly be dis- 
covered. Except for the quaint distinction that associates 
itself with hand-wrought goods, the machine-finished linens 
are in every way equal to the hand-finished. 

In towels there has been a gradual reduction in size 
from what was once considered standard. Now the usual 
towel size for family use is about 24 inches by 42 inches; 
towels 22 by 40 inches are increasing in use. The old- 
time towel was about 27 by 45 inches. Damask is a form 
of linen weave that has practically passed out for towel use. 
Huckaback and bird's-eye now lead. 

In linen dress goods, fashion leads as strongly as in al- 
most any other textile, although the range of possible 
variations seems narrower. 

Linen mesh underwear is becoming popular, being por- 
ous, well ventilated, and reputed to be hygienic. 



CHAPTER X 
THE CLASSES OF WOOL 

Character of the wool fiber. — Many animals have a hairy- 
covering that may be used by man for textile purposes. 
The sheep is the most important in this respect. Wool, the 
hair of the sheep, differs from ordinary hair in at least two 
ways. First, wool is wavy or kinky, having from two to 
thirty "waves" or "kinks" to the inch, whereas common 
hair is straight or only very slightly wavy. Second, woof 
is covered with scales, from i,ioo to 5,000 to the inch; hair 
has few such scales. 

Both the waviness and the scales give the wool a special 
textile value that other animal hairs do not possess. The 
waviness enables the wool fibers to be spun easily into fine 
elastic yarns. The scales cause wool to mat, rendering it 
possible to make wool cloth very compact, and even to 
make a felt fabric without weaving. Nevertheless, wools 
from different breeds of sheep vary greatly in these charac- 
teristics. Some wools are much like ordinary hair, and some 
hair is like wool. It is hard to draw the line between the 
two; in fact the same animal may have both ordinary hair 
and wool. 

FACTORS DETERMINING THE QUALITY OF WOOL 

The quality of wool usable for textile purposes depends 
upon the variety of sheep from which the wool comes, the 
nature of the pasturage for the sheep, the climatic condi- 

120 



THE CLASSES OF WOOL 121 

tions, differences in seasons, the health of the sheep, and 
their cleanhness. 

Varieties of sheep.— There are many varieties of sheep, 
to which, by means of interbreeding, new varieties are being 
continually added. Most varieties, however, go back to only 
a few classes. Some say that there are really only three 
great families ; others insist that there are more. 

WtLD Sheep. — It is probable that the various kinds of 
wild sheep found in many parts of the world originated 
from some common kind, but changed in appearance and 
characteristics because of the differences in climate, food, 
and surroundings in the various countries into which they 
happened to wander. These wild sheep may now be found 
in the Rocky Mountains, Africa, South America, India, 
Thibet, Java, and other lands. 

Tame Sheep. — Among the domesticated varieties of 
sheep the classification is fundamental, that based upon the 
use made of the sheep. One large class is known as the 
mutton sheep, because of the excellent food value of the 
flesh. The other class is known simply as the wool sheep. 
It generally is the case that mutton sheep have inferior 
wool, and that wool sheep are not particularly good food. 
A third class has been bred by crossing the two classes; 
these crossbreeds are useful both for mutton and wool pro- 
duction. 

The principal mutton varieties of sheep are the downs, 
among which are the Southdowns, the Suffolks, the Hamp- 
shires, the Oxford Downs, and the Shropshires. The wool 
varieties include the merinos, of which there are several 
special varieties in the different parts of the world, such as 
the Spanish merino (the original of all merinos), the Sax- 
ony Electoral merino, and the French merino known as the 
Rambouillet. In addition to the merinos there are other 
varieties of wool sheep known as the long-wools. Under 
this classification one may include the Leicesters, the Lin- 



122 TEXTILES 

coins, the Cotswolds, the Romney Marshes or Kent breeds, 
the Devons, the Wensleydales, etc. On the principle al- 
ready mentioned, the Southdowns, Hampshires, and Shrop- 
shires, while excellent for food, have only short, rather poor 
wool; the merinos, on the other hand, have the finest wool 
in the world. 

General characteristics of merinos. — The merino sheep is 
the best known and most widely distributed breed, and is 
often crossed with the English or native breeds. It is a 
comparatively small sheep, well covered with dense, crimpy 
wool. The length of the fiber or staple, as wool producers 
call it, varies with the type, but is usually less than four 
and more than two inches. The fiber is fine — sometimes, in 
the finest merino, as small as .0005 inch in diameter — and 
grows more densely than on any other variety. Coarse wool 
sheep have from 5,000 to 6,000 fibers to the square inch, 
whereas the merinos have from 40,000 to 48,000. The 
merino wool fiber has, furthermore, more scales on its sur- 
face than any other variety. Its fineness and the great 
number of scales on each fiber fit merino wool particularly 
for production of the finest fabrics. The merino sheep is 
very hardy, is easy to take care of in large flocks, and 
thrives under rather hard natural conditions ; hence it is a 
favorite wherever the environment seems forbidding. 

Variations in the merino sheep. — The merino, originally 
from Spain, has gone through numerous changes "in the 
various countries to which it has been transferred. In 1765 
it was taken into Saxony; here it developed into the Sax- 
ony merino, the finest of all fine-wooled sheep, which at 
one time was the main source of raw material for the finest 
broadcloths of England. The Saxon merino was also once 
popular in the United States, but is now seldom found 
there. 

Merino in France. — In 1786 the merino was taken from 
Spain into France. Under the patronage of the govern- 



THE CLASSES OF WOOL 123 

ment it developed a type now known as the Rambouillet. 
A few years ago this breed was introduced from France 
into the United States and speedily became popular, es- 
pecially in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and on the 
western ranges. 

Merino in the United States.- — The first merino sheep 
were introduced into this country from Spain about 1801. 
It is interesting to note that the first merino ram, costing 
over a thousand dollars, was presented to a Massachusetts 
sheep farmer by a Boston merchant. Since the farmer 
knew nothing about the special value of the ram, he shortly 
afterwards killed it for food. Learning a little later of his 
mistake, he immediately paid another thousand to have an- 
other ram imported. By 1804 there was established at 
least one merino-breeding farm in America, in Connec- 
ticut. 

In 1809 and 1810, the American consul in Lisbon ar- 
ranged to have several thousand merino sheep sent over to 
this country. From this time dates the beginning of ex- 
tensive merino production in America. 

One variety developed from these original merino sheep 
is now known as the Delaines, a sheep of fair mutton quali- 
ties and one that produces fine wool. The length of the 
fiber or staple averages about two and one-half inches. 
Great flocks of the Delaines are now found in the eastern 
and middle western states. 

Vermont was at one time one of the world's chief breed- 
ing centers for fine merinos. From Vermont merino sheep 
were sent to Australia, New Zealand, and to several coun- 
tries in South America, but particularly to Argentina; 
whereupon Vermont began to lose her preeminence in sheep 
breeding. Now there are almost as many dogs as sheep in 
the state, a fact that helps to explain why sheep raising is 
going backwards. Besides, Vermont, as well as the other 
New England states, is now raising sheep for mutton pur- 



124 TEXTILES 

poses rather than for wool; hence the failure to keep up 
the pure-bred merino flocks. 

Present merino wool production. — Merino production in 
the United States is now carried on in Ohio, Pennsylvania, 
and on the Western ranches, particularly in New Mexico, 
California, Washington, and Arizona. In view of the fact 
that formerly many more merinos were raised throughout 
the eastern and middle western part of the country than 
is the case today, and since frequently little care has been 
exercised in breeding, it is likely that some merino blood 
exists in a large number of the native sheep throughout the 
country. However, in mixing with the long wools and 
mutton breeds, the merino characteristics have generally 
been lost. The pure merino is no longer considered profit- 
able in the more thickly populated parts of the country. 
In these parts farmers want sheep that will fatten rapidly 
so that they may be sold for mutton; hence the crossbred 
or the mutton type is generally favored. 

Merino in South Africa. — South Africa had a woolless 
wild sheep when it was first settled by white people. Span- 
ish merino rams were imported as early as 1680 and crossed 
with the native sheep. Wool production and exportation 
began in 1716. In 1775 a large number of merino sheep 
were imported from Spain, and from that time on South 
Africa has produced merino wool. This wool is noticeably 
uneven in quality, but that known in the London wool mar- 
ket as "Cape Snow White" is as good as the best wool in 
the world. 

Merino in Australia. — Australia imported merino sheep 
from South Africa, from England, and from the United 
States ; also indirectly through Tasmania from Saxony. 
Australia was already well established in sheep raising be- 
fore 1830. Other countries, such as South America and 
New Zealand, have swung away from the raising of merinos 
to the mutton or crossbred types, but Australia has clung 




Special Australian stud ewes. 




Sheep shearing by machinery. 



THE CLASSES OF WOOL 125 

rather consistently to the merino. Between 1845 ^.nd 1854 
a large number of Rambouillet rams were introduced from 
France and crossed with the older stocks of merinos, with 
marked success. Under native conditions in Australia at 
least three types of merinos have been developed. First, a 
fine-wool sheep which fares best on highlands within the 
temperate coastal zone, where short, sweet grasses are 
grown; second, the medium-wool sheep which can bear 
rougher treatment but needs rich and abundant pastures; 
and lastly the strong-wool sheep, of large frame and tough 
constitution, adapted to the great "out back" plains where 
the summer temperature frequently exceeds ninety degrees 
in the shade and where the food during several weeks in 
each year consists of sparse, dry grass or salt bush. Natu- 
rally, then, when Australian wool is spoken of, unless the 
variety is specified, it may be either fine, medium, or quite 
coarse. 

General characteristics of the long-wools. — The long- 
wool sheep are of English origin, as one may judge from 
the names. These sheep are generally large in size, and 
their wool is coarse but characteristically long. Leicester 
wool fiber is often more than a foot long,* whereas merino 
wool seldom exceeds four inches. The long-wool sheep are 
generally good mutton sheep also. 

Leicester sheep. — The Leicester is the oldest true-bred 
sheep in England. Its wool, although very long and shiny, 
is rather coarse. The wool is used in making lustrous 
dress goods, braids, linings, bright serges, etc. The Leices- 
ter has been mixed with several other varieties of sheep, 
particularly the merinos, and one of these crossbreds, the 
Dishley Merino, is among the best mutton sheep in the 
world. Pure-bred Leicesters are not frequently found in 
this country. 

Lincoln sheep. — The Lincoln is perhaps the largest sheep 
in the world. It has a wool which is not only remarkably 



126 TEXTILES 

heavy, but is, moreover, as long as that of the Leicester. 
Its luster is excellent. Consequently this wool is used for 
practically the same purposes as Leicester wool. The Lin- 
coln also is used in crossbreeding, especially with the me- 
rino. A very heavy product of fine wool is said to result. 
Lincoln .sheep and their crosses are much in demand on 
the ranges of western America and in South America. 
Five thousand dollars for a pure-bred ram is not considered 
excessive. 

Cotswold sheep. — The Cotswold also is much like the 
Leicester, large, splendidly fleeced, but with wool less lus- 
trous than that of the Lincoln. The Cotswold is frequently 
used in the western part of the United States for cross- 
breeding with grade merino ewes. The result of this cross 
is good, for the lambs are large and fatten readily, while 
the crossbred wool is abundant and of good quality. Utah" 
and other western ranges have many Cotswold and Cots- 
wold crossbred sheep. Many Cotswold rams are imported 
from Canada and England for use in the western United 
States. This breed has been a useful one and is doubtless 
destined to continued service in the way of crossbreeding 
with range merinos. 

Romney Marsh sheep. — The Romney Marsh or Kent 
sheep come principally from Kent, England. The breed is 
similar to the Lincoln, but not quite so large, and its fleece 
shorter and less lustrous. It furnishes a wool much de- 
sired by manufacturers in Germany and elsewhere on the 
continent of Europe. This sheep is unusually hardy, and 
fattens on grass alone; hence it is much in demand in 
such countries as Argentina, Patagonia, Uruguay, and New 
Zealand. The Romney Marshes are generally crossed with 
the merinos, the resulting fleece being excellent and of 
good weight. This variety is not yet well known in the 
United States, although a few breeding sheep have been 
imported at very high prices. 



THE CLASSES OF WOOL 127 

In general, the long-wool sheep all produce a heavy 
weight of wool each year, frequently twice as much in 
weight as a merino. They are large in body, fairly well 
suited for mutton purposes, and are greatly desired for 
crossbreeding with merinos. The wool, however, until 
crossbred with merino, is too coarse for any but limited 
uses, such as in lustrous or shiny coarse fabrics. 

Wool of the Mutton Varieties of Sheep. — The mut- 
ton sheep — the Southdowns, Suffolks, Hampshires, Ox- 
fords, Shropshires, and Dorsets — are generally small, 
plump sheep, easily fattened, with a tendency to lay on 
fat rather than to grow wool. The wool is usually of 
medium length, soft, and fairly fine — the sort of wool much 
used in flannels, hosiery, and to a certain extent in mixing 
with longer wools for cloth. The Shropshires are common 
in Wisconsin largely because of the ease with which they 
can be cared for and because their wool is reasonably good. 
They are called the great ''farm sheep" of the world be- 
cause better than any other they combine the mutton- and 
wool-producing characteristics. 

'Carpet Wools. — There is still another class of sheep 
whose wool is in demand for certain special purposes. This 
wool is poorer than any of those varieties already described. 
There is a great deal of difference, however, among the 
wools of this general class, so a general characterization of 
them is difficult. Under this general class may be grouped 
all the wools of unimproved native sheep everywhere. Any- 
where, the growing of this wool is a sign of indifferent 
breeding or of natural conditions which prevent the raising 
of a better breed of sheep. These wools, because of the 
unfavorable conditions under which they are raised, are 
''kempy," that is, they have white and dark brittle hairs 
which resist dyeing; or else they are "cotted," that is, 
matted or felted together. Such wools range from white 
to black. The staple is generally coarse and has but few 



128 TEXTILES 

scales compared with the higher grades of wool. The 
wools of this class are those most closely resembling hair. 

Uses of carpet wools. — Practically none of these wools 
can be used alone in making the cloth used in garments worn 
by the American people. When coarse tweeds and cheviots 
are in favor, some of the best varieties of these wools are 
used in blending with better wools. They are also used to 
a limited degree in coarse blankets and felts. The carpet 
industry, however, uses the great majority of these wools. 
The best varieties are used for Wilton, Axminster, and 
Brussels carpets ; the poorer grades for ingrain carpets and 
cheap floor coverings. Because of this extensive use in 
the manufacture of carpets, this class of wools is known as 
carpet wool. 

The use of this term may mislead one, because, as a 
matter of fact, whenever the regular wools are high in 
price and the demand for coarse woolen fabrics is strong, 
the woolen manufacturers mix large quantities of carpet 
wools with their other wools in making cloakings, over- 
coatings, and even worsteds. Fashion chiefly determines 
this matter. When cheviots and homespuns are in vogue, 
the manufacturer can produce the desired eifect very eco- 
nomically by simply mixing with ordinary grades of wool 
a little carpet wool. On the other hand, to the Russian 
peasant, what we call carpet wool is good clothing wool. 
Multitudes dress in garments made by mixing these coarse 
wools with cow hair. The ordinary bed blanket of the 
laborer in England is a mixture of coarse India wool and 
cotton. Blankets of a similar kind are sold in increasing 
quantities in this country also. Felt boots, horse blankets, 
wool robes, papermakers' felt aprons, and wadding for gun 
cartridges are made almost entirely from carpet wools. 

Where carpet wool is produced. — Very little carpet wool 
is produced in the United States, and that little comes 
mainly from New Mexico. It is called Navajo wool, Prac- 



THE CLASSES OF WOOL 129 

tically none of this wool is produced in England, France, 
Germany, or Austria, and less than formerly is being pro- 
duced by Russia, Scotland, South America, Turkey, Persia, 
India, and China. Carpet wool is not very profitable ; con- 
sequently, when the natives of a country producing such 
wools begin to learn something about agricultural improve- 
ments, they soon change to better breeds of sheep. 

Scotch carpet wools. — Scottish blackfaced or highland 
sheep produce carpet wools that are strong and long in sta- 
ple but of poor color. The better staple is used in the 
making of Brussels, Axminster, and Wilton carpets, most 
of it being used in Great Britain. American manufacturers 
buy here only when the prices happen to be low because of 
temporary market conditions. Usually British manufac- 
turers are in a position to overbid American buyers for this 
wool. 

Russian carpet wools. — The Russian carpet wools are 
among the best. In the English and American markets 
such wools are usually called Donskoi wools, but in Russia 
this name is given to only one particular variety. There 
are several others, such as the Savolga, Kasan, Tscherskoi, 
and Kuban wools, all similar in quality but grown in dif- 
ferent parts of the empire. 

Some excellent grades of carpet wools, the Georgian 
wools, come from Georgia, a province in southern Russia. 
Both Donskoi and Georgian wools are much in demand 
for making velvet, plush, and Axminster carpets. 

Asian carpet wools. — Wools from central Asia are known 
as Bokhara, Turkestan, Merv, Transcaspian, and Calmuc 
wools. Bokhara wools are shipped from the city of that 
name. They are gray or black, and are well adapted to 
felting. Turkestan, Merv, and Transcaspian wools, similar 
to Bokhara wool, are used in medium grades of carpets 
such as ingrains and Smyrnas and, to a certain extent, in 
Axminsters. Much of these wools goes into the manufac- 



I30 TEXTILES 

ture of the felt boots used by lumbermen and farmers in 
northwestern United States. Calmuc wools are all from 
the sheep owned by the nomadic Kirghiz tribes. Without 
proper care or attention, driven about from place to place, 
living where the land is rough and the pasturage is poor, 
these sheep produce a rough, coarse, matted wool, which 
seems to be not so much shorn as torn off the sheep's back. 
Although there is considerable variation in the quality of 
Calmuc wools, they all bring the lowest prices and are used 
in the manufacture of the poorest carpets and rugs. Since 
the decline of the ingrain carpet and Smyrna rug industry 
in this country, there has been practically no demand for 
Calmuc wools in America.. 

Mongolian carpe wools. — Mongolian wools come to the 
United States in great quantities for use in carpet manu- 
facturing. Fifteen years ago they were scarcely known in 
this country, most of the development of this business hav- 
ing come since the Russian-Japanese war. These w^ools 
take bright colors well in dyeing and make up into a very 
springy carpet fabric. All the wool from large areas of 
central Mongolia comes to this country either through Si- 
beria to the Pacific Ocean, or westward through Russia to 
the Baltic Sea. 

China carpet wools. — China produces much cheap car- 
pet wool of many varieties. Some of it can be made into 
worsted carpet yarns, some into spun woolen yarns. A 
little Chinese yarn is fit to go into the finest Wilton or Ax- 
minster ; the larger part is good for only the poorer carpets. 

Wools used in making Oriental rugs. — Turkey, Persia, 
and India are the chief sources of Oriental rugs. Oriental 
rugs are made from carpet wools. In these countries some 
of the best grades of this wool are to be found. The 
varieties are very numerous, especially from Turkey, Asia 
Minor, and India. Every locality seems to have a different 
kind of sheep with wool slightly different from that of 



THE CLASSES OF WOOL 131 

other regions. In general, they are all fair to good in 
quality. During the last few years there has been a strong 
demand for Oriental rugs, resulting naturally in increasing 
prices on these wools. 

Carpet wools imported by the United States. — American 
manufacturers buy from these countries and then usually 
mix with the carpet wools obtained from elsewhere. The 
variety of Persian wool chiefly used in this country is called 
Khorassan; it takes color well and is used in Axminsters. 

From the northwestern part of Asia Minor come Angora, 
Caramanian, Samsoun, Yosgat, Smyrna, Yerli, Bouldour, 
and Konich wools; from Syria come Aleppo, Orfa, Damas- 
cus, and Jaffa wools ; and from Mesopotamia come Bagdad, 
Awassi or Mossoul, Kerkouk, Karadi, and Bussorah wools. 

The ''Oriental Rug Trust.'' — Smyrna is the center of the 
Turkish oriental rug manufacturing business. There are 
in this city over 45,000 hand looms under one concern, a 
sort of oriental rug ''trust." These oriental rug manu- 
facturers are today the principal competitors of the manu- 
facturers of high-grade American rugs, not only in buying 
the raw material, but likewise in selling the finished prod- 
ucts. 

India carpet wools. — India produces a considerable va- 
riety of wools ranging from the poorest grades up to those 
which are suited for the finest rugs. The best include such 
varieties as Joria, Vicanere, and Kandahar wools. All are 
largely used by local Oriental rug weavers, and also by 
foreign manufacturers in making Wilton, Axminster, and 
Brussels carpets. 

Food for the sheep. — The nature of the pasturage mark- 
edly affects the character of all kinds of wool. Rich soil, 
with a rich vegetation of sweet, soft grasses, causes a fine 
wool to grow. Chalky soils, such as are found in southern 
England, produce feed that has the effect of making the 
wool coarse. It is to be noted that the alkali in certain 



132 TEXTILES 

parts of the western United States makes more wiry the 
wool of sheep pastured there. 

Climate. — CHmatic conditions cause wool to vary. In 
dry regions the wool seems to become more like hair, if one 
may judge from the native or wild sheep ; whereas in moist 
climates the fiber becomes longer' and more crimpy. Wool 
is nature's covering for the sheep against cold and wet, 
and wherever cold and wet are characteristic, sheep have 
the longest, heaviest wools, and, unfortunately, usually the 
coarsest also. 

Differences in seasons. — Differences in seasons produce 
differences in wool of a given locality. A dry, warm season 
causes sheep to have short, fine, resilient wool, while a 
rainy season means long, heavy, matted fiber. The nature 
of the shelter given the sheep also affects the wool. Poorly 
cared for, unsheltered, badly fed sheep always have the 
poorest wools. 

Health of sheep. — A sheep in good health produces a 
good growth of its particular kind of wool; bad health as 
directly causes the wool to be poor. There are a number 
of disastrous diseases affecting sheep, such as anthrax, foot 
and mouth disease, stomach worms, scabs, etc., ailments 
which good sheep farming is successful in preventing. 

Cleanliness. — Other factors conspicuously affect the qual- 
ity of the wool as it comes from the sheep's back — cleanli- 
ness, for example. All wool naturally contains grease and 
perspiration that comes from the sheep's skin. Both lodge 
in the wool. Both help to keep the sheep warm during the 
winter time. These substances collectively are generally 
called the "yolk" or "suint," although the inclusive name 
"grease" is more frequently applied. Furthermore, sheep 
gather many foreign impurities that stick in the wool and 
grease. Dust, burrs, seeds, chaff, and manure are common. 
In dry regions, dust is likely to be the chief impurity im- 
bedded in the wool. In our American middle-western pas- 



THE CLASSES OF WOOL 133 

tures, sheep catch burrs, thistles, seeds, etc., in their wool. 
The careless farmers of Wisconsin and elsewhere in the 
Middle West let their sheep run loose in the strawstacks 
during the winter time. Here the neck and back wool of the 
sheep become filled with chaff. The very worst cases of 
this kind are to be seen where the strawstacks contain 
threshed barley, the beards of which penetrate the wool at 
every part of the body and work into the sheep's skin. Not 
only is the wool lowered in quality, but the sheep itself is 
made uncomfortable. 

Relation of Cleanliness to Price. — When wool is sold 
by the farmer to the dealers, account must be taken of all 
these impurities, for the price is determined not only by the 
variety of the wool but also by its cleanliness. Since it is 
sold by weight, all impurities and all moisture must be dis- 
counted in the price. Sheep farmers often wonder why 
their neighbors who have the same varieties of sheep and 
who have similar pasturage and feed get several cents 
more a pound for their wool. The explanation is in many 
cases that the neighbors' sheep have been better cared for 
and have been kept cleaner. 

Difficulties of Classifying Wool. — On account of the 
many conditions affecting the quality of the wool for tex- 
tile purposes, it is not possible to classify wool solely accord- 
ing to the varieties of sheep, although that would seem to 
be the most natural classification. One classification has 
divided wool into three large classes : namely, carding, 
combing, and carpet wools. This classification had its 
value when only the longer varieties of wool could be 
combed, but today very short wool is being combed by 
improved machinery; the long wools are often carded and 
not combed; while the carpet wools, as we have seen, are 
not always used for carpets. Nor is any classification based 
upon use possible, for the average fiber can be used for a 
number of purposes. In the tariff schedules of the United 



134 • TEXTILES 

States governmQnt, wool is divided into classes I, II, and 
III, based on the old carding, combing, and carpet wool 
division, but few people see anything praiseworthy about 
this unscientific law and its classifications. Schedule K, the 
part of the tariff law applying to wool, was declared inde- 
fensible by President Taft, and a Tariff Commission was 
set to work to determine remedies in classifications as well 
as in charges to be made by the government. 



HOW THE MANUFACTURER BUYS WOOL 

The wool manufacturer buys wool for certain uses. He 
has certain goods to be made, requiring definite qualities of 
wool. His buyers go into the markets of the world and 
buy wool that corresponds to those qualities, disregarding 
its name or its place of origin, so long as the price is satis- 
factory. If he cannot find a single variety that will answer 
his purpose, he will take two or more approximating what 
he wants and mix these in proper proportions. 

Standard grades of wool. — Because of the variety of 
sheep raised, and because of the conditions under which 
they are raised, certain communities come to be known in 
the markets as sources of supply for certain grades and 
qualities of wool. 

Saixon wool. — For example, we have already seen that 
Saxony produces a fine type of merino sheep. These sheep 
get excellent care as a rule, and the raw wool that comes 
from Saxony is, for its size, the finest, softest, most elastic 
fiber in the world. Every fiber has multitudes of scales or 
serrations ; hence the Saxon wool has excellent felting quali- 
ties. This wool is in demand at high prices for use in 
making the finest dress fabrics. Wool manufacturers, then, 
look regularly to Saxony for wool of this grade. 

Australia produces greater quantities of good wool than 



THE CLASSES OF WOOL 135 

any other country. But not all of the Australian merino 
is of good grade, as we have already seen. Certain places 
in Australia have a reputation for particular qualities in 
wool, as for example. Port Phillip, Sydney, and Adelaide. 

Port Phillip zvool. — Port Phillip wool ranks almost as 
high as fine Saxon wool. Its color is good. It mats well. 
It spins yarn as high as 130's, and is used largely in fine 
worsted and woolen dress goods. Port Phillip wool is 
therefore a standard fine wool, so recognized in all big 
markets of the world. 

Sydney wool. — Sydney wools are not so fine as those of 
Port Phillip, not so strong, nor so uniform in length. How- 
ever, they are used in making medium and better grades of 
worsteds as well as woolens. 

Adelaide wool. — Adelaide wool averages yet lower in 
color and other qualities. Being a very greasy wool, it 
shrinks much in washing. This wool is used in making 
medium fancy woolens and worsted dress goods. It will 
spin filling yarn up to size 6o's. 

These three varieties of Australian wool, Port Phillip, 
Sydney, and Adelaide, are the standard Australian fine 
wools, but there are several grades of each, and the poorer 
Port Phillip wools may be worth many cents a pound less 
than some good grades of scrub sheep wool from Wiscon- 
sin or Minnesota. These three Australian wools are meri- 
nos. In addition to these, Australia sends out great quanti- 
ties of crossbred wool varying greatly in value and in 
quality, ranging from common and coarse to fine and super- 
fine. 

Van wool. — Van wool from Tasmania is a high grade of 
very white fiber that takes light dyes and hence is in strong 
demand for fancy dress fabrics. 

New Zealand wool. — New Zealand wool is an excellent' 
wool with exceptional qualities of elasticity, and is easy to 
spin. Because of these qualities this wool is very useful for 



136 TEXTILES 

mixing with shoddy and other wool substitutes to give these 
materials the springiness and bulk of pure, fresh wool. 

Cape wool. — South African wools, usually called Cape 
wools, vary from the finest to the coarsest. "Cape Snow 
White" compares favorably with the best Australian wool. 
Its peculiar whiteness fits it for use in the finest classes of 
dress goods. In general Cape wools are rather tender, less 
wavy, and less elastic than Australian wools and do not felt 
so well. On this account Cape wools are often made up 
into hosiery, shawls, and cloths where felting is not desired. 

South American wools. — South American wools are 
usually not so strong, so elastic, or so satisfactory to felt as 
Australian wools, but they are improving rapidly with the 
better methods of sheep raising that are being introduced 
into Argentina and Uruguay; not improbably, then, the 
South American wools will before long rank above the aver- 
age. It is not likely, however, that these countries will 
raise the finest wools, for the same reason that the Eastern 
United States no longer raises merino wools in great quan- 
tities. A fine wool sheep does not pay so well as a sheep 
that combines fair wool and good mutton qualities. During 
the last few years South American mutton has been in great 
demand in Europe. It is shipped by boat loads in steam- 
ers with refrigerator arrangements, and therefore arrives 
in Europe in a frozen condition. 

American wools and their classes. — ^The American wools 
vary from the finest to the poorest. There are several 
classifications, some that apply only to certain states, as, 
for example. New Mexico, with its numbers i, 2, 3, and 4 
wool, and California with its spring, northern, and fall 
wools. In California the sheep are sheared twice a year, 
the fall wool being worth less than the spring clip. In gen- 
eral, however, the American wools, particularly of the 
Eastern states, are classified as follows : 

The finest quality is called "picklock." This grade does 



THE CLASSES OF WOOL 137 

not appear in the market quotations, because it is very 
scarce. It is the quality produced by a pure Saxony merino 
sheep of which some were imported into Pennsylvania and 
Ohio about fifty years ago. 

"XXX" wool is produced by a cross of the common 
American merino and Saxony merino. 

"XX" wool is from a full-blooded merino. 

"X" wool is from a full-blood or high-grade merino. 

"Half-blood," "three-eighths-blood," "quarter-blood" 
wools indicate varying percentages of merino blood in the 
sheep producing the wool. 

What the terms mean. — It should be noted, however, that 
these terms refer, in the trade, not so much to the blood in 
the sheep which produced the wool as to the relative 
coarseness and fineness of the fiber. To be sure, the more 
merino blood in a sheep, the finer, as a rule, the wool is; 
but it is possible to have a wool of, say, three-eighths- 
blood quality either on an English crossbred or on a prac- 
tically full-blooded merino. The terms "fine," "half-blood," 
"three-eighths-blood," "quarter-blood," etc., have in fact no 
necessary connection with the proportion of merino blood 
in the sheep which produced the wool so designated. 

"Fine Delaine" is a straight merino wool some two and 
one-half inches long, adapted to combing. 

"Braid" wool is a coarse wool, generally lustrous. 

To each of these terms is generally prefixed the name of 
the state from which the wool comes; hence there may be 
Ohio three-eighths-blood, Wisconsin three-eighths-blood, or 
Missouri three-eighths-blood, and so on for all the rest of 
the varieties. 

English method of grading wool. — To the manufacturer 
each grading term suggests the working and spinning qual- 
ity of the wool. In England such designations or market 
terms for wool are displaced by the more direct naming 
according to the size of yarn that the wool will produce. 



138 TEXTILES 

as for example, 30's, 50's, 70's, etc. The American class 
known as quarter-blood would in England be called any- 
where from 42's to 50's wool; half-blood would be called 
58's to 6o's; and X wool would probably be called from 
64's to 70's. No. 6o's wool is the English standard for 
comparison of prices. If one were to ask a British wool 
merchant the price of wool, he would invariably give it for 
the 6o's grade, unless other grades were specified. 

Special classes of wools. — The preceding are the regular 
classes of wool obtained by shearing full-grown sheep at the 
regular times. There are, in addition, other varieties of 
wool, obtained by other methods and having quite different 
qualities. 

Lamb's wool. — Lamb's wool is obtained by shearing the 
lambs before they are a year old, generally at the age of six 
or eight months. 

Hogg wool. — "Teg," "hogg," or "hogget" wool is wool 
from a year-old sheep which has not previously been clipped. 
The fiber is pointed and tapers towards the end. This is 
nearly all made into warp yarn. 

"Shurled hogget" wool is the first-class fleece from a 
sheep which has previously been shorn when a lamb. 

Wether wool. — ''Wether" wool in the United States is 
the name given to the wool produced on a castrated male 
sheep. In England, however, wether wool is any wool 
shorn after the first or hogget fleece has been removed. 

Pulled wool. — ''Pulled" wool is that which is removed 
from the skins of slaughtered sheep. Pulled wool is a by- 
product of the slaughtering and meat-packing industries in 
this country. Argentina, Australia, Africa, and other coun- 
tries send a large proportion of the skins taken from the 
carcasses direct to Europe without any preparation. The 
city of Mazamet, France, is the center of the world's trade 
in these skins. During 1910, this city received and pulled 
the wool from more than 130,000,000 sheep skins. 



THE CLASSES OF WOOL 139 

In Mazamet the wool is first loosened from the skin by 
a rotting process. In this country and in Australia the 
wool is loosened by chemical means, either sodium sulphide 
or lime being used. Whatever the process there is likeli- 
hood of injuring the wool fiber; hence pulled wools are used 
only in medium and low grades of goods. They are used 
extensively for blending with shoddy, noils, and wastes. 
They lack spinning properties, are harsh, and do not work 
up like ''fleece" wools, but are a valuable raw textile ma- 
terial and are sure to increase in importance with the grow- 
ing emphasis which is being placed on raising sheep for 
mutton as well as wool. 

Conclusion. — From the foregoing it will be seen that 
there are very many varieties of wool. In fact experience 
in grading United States wools has shown that even a 
system with two hundred defined grades is inadequate. 
Every locality has its own peculiar conditions affecting 
the wool. Furthermore, qualities vary endlessly according 
to the numerous varieties of sheep, their feed, care, cleanli- 
ness, the climate, the time of shearing, the health and age 
of the sheep, and other factors which all go to produce a 
wool with definite individual characteristics. 



CHAPTER XI 
THE PRODUCTION OF WOOL 

The United States produces annually something over 
300,000,000 pounds of wool as it comes from the sheep's 
back. The people each year use, on an average, between 
five and six pounds for every man, woman, and child ; 
hence there must be imported almost as much as we pro- 
duce at home. The production within the United States 
in 1 910 was 321,400,000 pounds, while the importations 
amounted to 252,000,000 pounds. The sources of our raw 
wool will prove more significant in the future, for accord- 
ing to the census of 1910, there were then about 14 per cent 
fewer sheep in this country than there were in 1900, ten 
years before. During these ten years the number of sheep 
fell off in more than three-fourths of the states in the 
Union. In some states the drop in numbers was as much 
as half. Evidently if we allow this decrease in production 
to continue, we shall have to rely more and more upon 
foreign countries for our supply. 

Why wool production is falling off in the United States. 
— It is well to know something about the conditions of sheep 
and wool production in this country so that this tendency 
to discontinue sheep raising may be traced intelligently. 
Possibly some of the causes for this tendency may be re- 
moved or at least modified. It may be that some of them 
will become inoperative in the future. In any case the 
student should intelligently follow this movement during 
the coming years. 

140 



THE PRODUCTION OF WOOL 141 

Not profitable.- — The fundamental reason for the lessen- 
ing of sheep in America is that the farmers find that under 
the present methods of farming they can make more money- 
producing something else. The average market value of a 
sheep in this country in 1910 was about $4.40. The cost of 
keeping sheep averages about $4.00 per head per year, 
counting all expenses, value of investment, etc. The prin- 
cipal products are wool and lambs. The average weight 
of the fleece of an American sheep is less than seven 
pounds. At an average sales price of twenty-five cents a 
pound, the wool brings about $1.75. Flocks that double in 
number in a year are considered very good. If this in- 
crease in lambs were sold at the average value of lambs as 
given in the census for 1910, then there would be a product 
of about $2.30 for each lamb. Each sheep in the flock 
could then be credited with a fleece at $1.75 and a lamb at 
$2.30, or a total of $4.05. This leaves a net profit of five 
cents a sheep — too narrow a margin in view of the facts 
that only the better grades of wool sell for twenty-five 
cents a pound, that the price fluctuates considerably, and 
that the cost of keeping sheep varies from year to year. It 
is easy to see why many farmers lose money on sheep rais- 
ing. The margin of profit is never very wide. Careful 
accounts of nine typical Minnesota flocks kept by the Min- 
nesota Agricultural College showed for each sheep an 
average cost of $4.13 and an average income of $4.38. 

Western ranges raise sheep at considerably less cost, but 
the product on each sheep is generally less also. The 
figures that have been given should be considered only as 
averages. Few actual cases will be found exactly the same 
as these. The point emphasized is the narrow profit margin 
in sheep production in this country. Many who have scien- 
tifically studied sheep raising say that it is possible to raise 
sheep in this country at a satisfactory profit. The fact is 
that while certain farmers are able to raise sheep profitably, 



142 TEXTILES 

their methods and their knowledge of the business are not 
general. It is one of the chief purposes of agricultural 
colleges the country over to teach better methods of pro- 
duction ; some of these colleges have made special study of 
this particular subject of sheep and wool production. 

Depredations of dogs. — Not only the financial considera- 
tion prevents farmers from raising sheep. Strange as it 
may seem, sheep raising has fallen off considerably in sev- 
eral portions of this country because of the depredations of 
dogs. Vermont is an example, according to some who have 
grown sheep there. The same is true of Massachusetts, 
New York, and even Wisconsin. In Kansas, where there 
are more dogs than sheep, the sheep owners declare that 
the owners of dogs cannot be made to believe that their 
dogs are the culprits ; hence trouble arises. Where dog own- 
ers outnumber the raisers of sheep, the latter frequently 
stop raising sheep. It should be added that much of the 
sheep destruction by dogs is due to stray curs, an evil that 
a good licensing system would remedy. 

Competition of the dairy industry. — Another factor 
checking the production of sheep is the growth of the dairy 
industry. In sotjthern Wisconsin, formerly a great sheep 
section, dairy cattle have been substituted to the full limit 
of pasturage and feed. The Wisconsin College of Agricul- 
ture maintains that this is a mistake. They assert that if 
the farmer would raise fewer cows and would add small 
flocks of sheep, the net profits would be as great and the 
farm kept in better condition. 

High cost of fencing. — Another drawback to sheep rais- 
ing in the northern part of Wisconsin is the high first ex- 
pense for fencing. Cattle can be kept within a pasture 
by the use of only three barbed wires placed at the proper 
height; whereas sheep require five wires, or better still, 
woven wire fencing. The immediate expense of such fenc- 
ing deters new farmers from going into sheep raising. The 



THE PRODUCTION OF WOOL 143 

narrow margin of profit, the dangers of sheep diseases, 
and the lack of knowledge about sheep are some of the 
other reasons why sheep raising is on the decline in the 
Middle West. 

Methods of wool production in this country. — The 
methods of wool production differ widely in the different 
parts of the country. For example, in the West, sheep 
raising is conducted as a distinct occupation on large 
ranches, huge flocks of sheep being raised on a single ranch 
containing its thousands of acres. In the eastern part of 
the country the industry of sheep raising is carried on rather 
incidentally on grain or dairy farms. In Wisconsin the 
average number of sheep on the farms that raise sheep at 
all is less than twenty. This may be taken as typical of 
sheep production in all parts of the country except in the 
sheep-ranching area. The sheep ranches require special 
labor, sheep herders, camp tenders, and shearers, an aver- 
age of one man for every 1,500 head of sheep, and extra 
help during lambing and shearing times. In the dairy 
and grain-farming states, the sheep are usually given only 
a part of the time of the farmer, allowed to run in the 
pastures with the cattle, and stabled just as the cattle are in 
the winter time. In the West, the sheep ranch land is used 
for nothing else. In fact close grazing unfits the land for 
other livestock pasturage for several seasons. Sheep ranch- 
ing has frequently paid well in the past, but is, nevertheless, 
a hazardous and lonesome occupation. The sheep herder 
stays out for long periods of time with his flocks, seeing no 
human being save the camp tender. Few men can stand 
the strain without undue mental suffering. Most of the 
herders are Mexicans and Indians, who seem less susceptible 
to this danger. 

Possibilities of loss on sheep ranches. — There is always 
possibility of great loss of sheep from storms during the 
winter. During blizzards whole flocks of many thousands 



144 TEXTILES 

of sheep may be killed. Poisonous plants kill some sheep 
every year. Coyotes and wildcats, especially the former, 
constantly follow the ranch flocks, stealing in and killing 
sheep whenever the herder with his rifle is off his guard. 
In times of excessive drought, both the feed and water may 
disappear; whereupon the sheep must be driven long dis- 
tances to new pastures and to water. Many sheep are 
likely to fall dead by the wayside on these journeys. 

There is usually considerable loss of both ewes and 
young lambs at lambing time. For weeks after the lambs 
are born, there is constant likelihood of the lambs being 
separated from the mothers, and starving to death. At 
least lo per cent of the lambs die thus on the sheep ranches. 
Large numbers of sheep are often shipped eastward and 
divided up among eastern farmers for the purpose of fat- 
tening them for market, with probable losses at every move. 
Sheep ranching has almost as many chances as gambling. 
During the last few years, therefore, there has been a steady 
decrease in the number and size of these ranches. Irriga- 
tion and dry farming have crept in. The sheep rancher has 
been compelled either to retreat to more arid regions, or to 
sell out his flocks, very frequently the latter. We may not 
look forward to any increase in sheep ranching in this 
country. Sheep and wool production will grow only with 
the spread of diversified farming, and in the humid regions. 

Shearing. — Shearing is now usually done in May. June 
shearing, formerly common, is now thought less practicable, 
the sheep doing better and the wool product being finer 
from the earlier shearing. The average fleece in Wisconsin 
weighs from seven to eight and one-half pounds, a fair 
average for the varieties raised, mainly Shropshires and 
Oxfords. 

The shearing is done either by hand shears or by machine 
dippers. Since the introduction of the machine wool clip- 
pers, the sheep with folds in their skin have not been popu- 



THE PRODUCTION OF WOOL 145 

lar. The older merinos had deep folds, and sheep raisers 
everywhere tried to breed so as to make them still deeper; 
they reasoned that the deeper the folds the greater the skin 
surface, and the greater the skin surface, the greater the 
amount of wool on each sheep. Now farmers everywhere 
desire the sheep with smooth skin, preferring rather to 
increase the size of the body by crossbreeding the merinos 
and other fine wool sheep with the large, bony, long-wool 
types. 

The fleece. — If the shearing is done well, the wool from 
the sheep holds together in one large sheet. This sheet, 
called the fleece, is rolled up and tied, with the dirty outer 
side of the wool turned in. Sometimes two fleeces are tied 
together in the same bundle. The fleeces are either stored 
by the farmers in the hope that prices may rise, or else 
immediately hauled by wagon loads to market. 

Wool washing. — In some localities the wool is washed 
before being hauled to market, frequently while on the 
sheep's back, by giving the sheep a bath in a tank, but this 
practice seems to be on the decrease. The improved wash- 
ing machinery found in wool manufactories has made it 
unprofitable for the farmer to wash wool by hand in his 
ordinary tubs or tanks. The result from wool washing on 
the farm is so uneven that there can be no assurance of 
proper remuneration for the work. 



CHAPTER XII 
WOOL MARKETING 

Local wool marketing. — The American wool grower dis- 
poses of his raw wool in a variety of ways, depending upon 
the locality, the amount of wool offered for sale, the cus- 
toms of marketing, the wool grower's knowledge and 
shrewdness in marketing, the opportunity for cooperation 
among wool growers, and other factors of less importance. 
Wool growers who produce large quantities are generally 
able to get better prices than small producers. Competition 
among buyers leads to better prices, whereas combination 
among the buyers, with consequent lack of competition, 
leads to lower prices for the wool. 

Sales to local dealer. — The method of marketing wool 
most common among the farmers in the eastern and Missis- 
sippi Valley states is that of selling to local dealers in 
near-by towns, men who usually combine wool buying with 
other business, grain buying perhaps, or storekeeping. The 
local dealer examines the wool that is brought to him, esti- 
mates its value as well as he can, and then offers a price 
which he thinks will give him a profit when he in turn sells 
the wool to some merchant, commission house, or manu- 
facturing concern. Sometimes the local dealer ships all 
the wool he buys to some commission house or wool mer- 
chant. In a word, he may act as the buying agent for such 
a concern, the concern supplying him with buying funds 
and otherwise assisting him in getting the raw wool. 

Selling to local dealers is not always entirely satisfactory. 

146 



WOOL MARKETING 147 

The dealer's judgment of the quality of wool may not in- 
variably be good, for wool judging is a most difficult art. 
Good wool brought to such markets often brings less than 
it should because of willful or ignorant failure to rate it 
fairly. Producing better grades of wool is therefore not 
always encouraged by this system. Sometimes, it is al- 
leged, local dealers buy high-grade wools at low-grade 
prices, the wool growers themselves not being sure of the 
grades of their wool ; these dealers then sell the same wools 
at a profit illegitimately large. Such practices have made 
growers suspicious of middlemen in wool, and have led 
them to seek other methods of marketing their product. 

Sales to commission houses. — Large wool growers, es- 
pecially those in the western states, often send their wool 
direct to commission houses or wool merchants in Boston, 
Chicago, or Philadelphia. In these cases the wool is hauled 
to the railroads, loaded upon the trains, and sent east by 
the grower, not being judged or graded until it arrives at 
the commission house or other destination. These transac- 
tions are often completed entirely by mail, although repre- 
sentatives of the commission houses frequently travel 
throughout the wool-growing country, making contracts 
for the wool at stipulated prices, sometimes long before 
shearing time. Under this system, the wool is graded very 
carefully by experts; as a general rule, therefore, there is 
little complaint of such unfairness as is found in selling 
to local wool buyers. 

Sales by auction. — Another system of marketing is to 
be found in the sheep-range country of the West; namely 
that of auctions. This is the regular marketing method of 
Australia and New Zealand, but has been used only slightly 
in this country. The method of procedure is as follows: 
On a given date after shearing time all the wool is brought 
to town, and put up at auction in various lots. Buyers 
from wool-manufacturing and commission houses have 



148 TEXTILES 

been notified of the date, and all who are interested are 
represented at the auction. 

Sales direct to mills. — In certain parts of the Middle 
West, the growers sell their wool direct to factories, or to 
the representatives of factories. Woolen mills that buy in 
this way are scattered throughout Iowa, Minnesota, Wis- 
consin, Tennessee, and Ohio. Each mill buys as much as 
possible direct from the near-by farmers, to the advantage 
of both parties. The buying expense of the mills is re- 
duced, while the farmers get a slightly higher price for their 
wool than they can get from the average middleman. 

Farmers' cooperative sales agencies. — In a few cases 
farmers' cooperative associations take charge of the wool 
produced by the members, selling it either to dealers or to 
manufacturers in amounts large enough to get the fairest 
prices. The Minnesota Wool Growers' Association not 
only collects the wool from its members, but also manufac- 
tures woolen goods in its own mills. In this particular case 
the results are said to be very satisfactory to the wool 
growers. 

Wool merchants.— The wool that does not go direct from 
grower to manufacturer goes to the great wool markets of 
the country for resale, storage, regrading, etc. Boston is 
the great wool market of the country. Many of the oldest 
wool merchant houses are located there, and the largest 
woolen mills in America are only a few hours' ride from 
the city. Philadelphia and Chicago rank next as centers for 
this country's home trade in raw wool. 

Wool warehouses. — In these cities are found large storage 
buildings in which the wool may be kept until demanded 
by manufacturers. Boston has a wool warehouse large 
enough to hold 100,000,000 pounds, all immediately accessi- 
ble. It is thus possible to store almost one-third of the na- 
tion's annual clip in this one building. The American 
Woolen Company is said to control the corporation owning 



WOOL MARKETING • 149 

this structure, and to buy most of the wool stored therein. 

Other large warehouses are to be found in Philadelphia, 
New York, Chicago, and in the western wool concentration 
points at Billings, Big Timber, and Great Falls, Montana, 
at San Francisco, and in several other west coast cities. 

Functions of wool merchants. — The wool merchants oc- 
cupy an important place in the present system of wool mar- 
keting. Most of them have large capital that can be used 
in buying large quantities of wool on cash terms, often long 
before any sales can be made to manufacturers. Since 
their sales to manufacturers are often on credit, they may 
have money tied up not only in the wool stock in their 
warehouses, but also in manufacturers' goods in process of 
making. This extension of credit to manufacturers is nat- 
urally a function of banking; hence such merchants are 
sometimes called wool merchant bankers or textile bankers. 

These wool merchants also exercise their banking func- 
tion at times with regard to the producers of raw wool, 
especially in the range country. A sheep rancher finding 
himself short of funds to pay the wages of the herders 
and the other expenses that come up before the time for 
selling the wool, often makes an agreement with an eastern 
wool merchant whereby the merchant lends him the desired 
amount and takes a lien on the unshorn wool. In other 
cases the merchant buys the wool outright to be delivered 
at the proper season. The wool merchant's need of large 
capital is thus clear. He may have money invested in wool 
yet on the sheep's back, in wool stored in some warehouse 
waiting for a buyer, and in wool in process of manufac- 
ture. 

Buying wool "on the sheep's back" often takes a specula- 
tive turn. Merchants, on looking over the world's sources 
of probable wool supply during a coming season, may con- 
clude that this supply will be inadequate for the demand 
and that consequently prices will go up. In such a case 



150 TEXTILES 

some of the merchants are likely to try to gain an advantage 
from the expected rise in prices by going into the wool- 
producing territory and offering to buy at advantageous 
prices the wool still growing on the sheep. In 1909 such 
an advance in price was expected, and an unusual quantity 
of western wool was sold by contract to eastern merchants 
long before the sheep were shorn. Some of this early buy- 
ing takes place every year.. 

In addition to buying, selling, and financing the wool busi- 
ness, the wool merchants also perform various necessary 
functions, such as accumulating large supplies of wool in 
certain centers patronized by manufacturers. These mer- 
chants are likewise the importers of foreign wool. Much 
of this is purchased by their representatives in the great 
wool markets abroad, in London, Liverpool, Cape Town, 
Buenos Aires, or Sydney. When the wool comes to the 
warehouses, it is graded carefully and then stored in such 
manner that any quantity of any grade may conveniently 
be taken out, sold, and delivered to manufacturers. A 
manufacturer can thus generally go to a big wool merchant 
and get without difficulty just such grades of wool as he 
wants in the proper quantities. 

Eliminating the wool merchant. — For these services, the 
wool merchant charges his profit. Some have thought this 
profit too large and have attempted to eliminate the wool 
merchant, or "middleman" as he is called, by having sales 
made direct from producers or local dealers to manufac- 
turers. Various systems of handling the wool have been 
proposed, among which cooperative organizations of pro- 
ducers have been quite prominent on the one hand, and 
large associations of manufacturers buying direct through 
their own organization on the other. Furthermore several 
wool growers' associations have been formed, but so re- 
cently that it is hard to say whether or not they will be suc- 
cessful in marketing their product. Most of the first at- 



WOOL MARKETING 151 

tempts ended in failure. Buying direct by manufacturers 
seems to be increasing in direct ratio with the increase in 
concentration of capital in the wool-manufacturing industry. 
The small wool factory must of necessity buy through the 
merchants except in limited and exceptional cases. The 
large corporation controlling several woolen mills can pro- 
vide a buying organization comparable in every way to that 
of the wool merchants. 

The auction system of marketing. — The systems of mar- 
keting in Argentina, Uruguay, and Russia are similar to 
that of America; that is, the wool is generally bought and 
sold by private buyers and sellers under ordinary market- 
ing arrangements. But in England, or at any rate in Lon- 
don and Liverpool, and also in Australia, New Zealand, 
South Africa, and in the German markets, wool is generally 
sold at public auctions held on prescribed dates. The wool 
markets of these countries are controlled by public or semi- 
public bodies, the wool is graded by official graders, and sold 
(in much the same way as wheat or cotton in the large 
American exchanges) by grade instead of by sample. 

Auctions in this country. — The auction system has been 
tried in this country several times during the last few 
years, but with no success. In 1894 the New York Wool 
Exchange was established with the idea of conducting the 
wool business on the same basis as cotton marketing. Auc- 
tions were announced, but both buyers and sellers failed 
to appear. Within four years the system had to be aban- 
doned, and the New York Wool Exchange passed out of 
existence. In 1908 the Wyoming Wool Growers' Associa- 
tion established an auction system and built a wool ware- 
house at Omaha; this enterprise also failed within a year. 
In 1909 the National Wool Warehouse and Storage Com- 
pany of Chicago was formed, a large warehouse was built, 
and the auction system again attempted. The auctions 
failed, but the company, instead of passing out of existence, 



152 TEXTILES 

undertook to buy and sell wool on commissions in the fash- 
ion of some wool merchants. The National Wool Growers' 
Association aided this company financially, and its success 
as a commission house seems assured. 

Why the auction system fails in this country. — The auc- 
tion system which works well in England and Australia 
is so unsuccessful in the United States largely because of 
unevenness in American wool qualities, and because of the 
business habits of our people. Australian wool, while of 
many grades, is fairly uniform as compared with wool pro- 
duced in the United States. Australian, English, Cape, 
and German wools can be graded evenly since the sheep 
raised in each of these countries are of fairly constant 
breeds, and the conditions of production are generally about 
the same. Not so in the United States ! The New York 
Wool Exchange began by defining two hundred grades of 
wool under which they expected to handle the American 
product. Within a short time it was found that this num- 
ber of grades was entirely inadequate. No system of grad- 
ing for American wools has yet been found applicable in 
the public market. Sheep raising in this country must first 
be so standardized in each section that there will be no 
such continual change as now exists from breed to breed 
or from one condition of production to another. 

A second reason for the failure of public wool auctions 
in this country is to be found in the psychology of the 
American wool producer and dealer. Regulations and mar- 
ket rules are more or less odious to him. What he wants 
is a direct chance to sell or to buy, and to exercise his bar- 
gaining instincts in every possible way. That he risks con- 
siderable loss in his private bargaining because of mistakes 
in judgment or because of fraud or deception, weighs not 
half so heavily with him as the sporting chance of winning 
something more than would be possible in the regulated 
public market. It is only another illustration of the domi- 



WOOL MARKETING 153 

nant idea among so many of our American business men, 
''to get rich quick," and the willingness to ''take a chance." 
In the European markets, conservatism marks the trader 
rather than plunging. He takes a lower margin, but he is 
more secure in this margin. He has learned the lesson that 
plunging has too many probabilities of disaster to be profit- 
able in the long run. 

Factors of successful marketing. — Successful wool mar- 
keting calls for special facilities for so handling and storing 
the wool that such quantities of any quality may be pro- 
cured and later distributed as demanded by wool manu- 
facturers. Somewhere in the system such means must be 
provided. No adequate method of holding back the wool 
on the farms or ranches until needed by the manufacturers 
has yet been suggested. Local dealers cannot do this holding 
any better than the wool growers can. Most manufacturers 
find outlet for practically all of their capital in the produc- 
tion and marketing of the finished goods. To organize the 
buying of raw wool too would be more than any save the 
very largest companies could do. The present system of 
collecting, sorting, and storing wools through the medium 
of the great wool merchant houses has much to recommend 
it as regards economy and efficiency. 

Marketing of wool also calls for an expert knowledge of 
qualities. Not only are there the great number of grades 
mentioned in preceding chapters, but there are qualities 
or grades within grades. Dirt, grease, dead, straight, shiny 
fibers called "kemp," and matted wool all detract from the 
value of the wool. Consider, for insta.nce, the item of 
natural grease found in wool as it comes from the sheep. 
What part of the total weight of the fleece shall be allowed 
for it? What part of the fleece is grease and what part 
pure wool ? In the washing or scouring processes all of this 
grease comes out. The shrinkage in scouring varies from 
10 per cent to 75 per cent of the original weight, no two 



154 TEXTILES 

kinds of wool being likely to show the same shrinkage. 
Nor are any two sheep likely to have the same amount of 
grease in their wool even when raised under the same condi- 
tions. In fact the same sheep will have differing amounts 
of grease in its wool in different seasons. Yet certain varie- 
ties raised under given conditions come to have a fairly 
uniform shrinkage. This is the basis upon which most buy- 
ers work. For example, the full-blood, half-blood, and 
crossbred sheep under a given environment will each prob- 
ably have a certain percentage of grease; and each variety 
will have a different percentage for every different environ- 
ment. To illustrate : in Wisconsin each pound of three- 
eighths-blood fleece usually sells for a few cents less than 
does the Ohio three-eighths-blood, the reason being that 
Wisconsin wool shrinks more in the scouring. Probably 
the causes are differences in climate, food, and care. But 
whatever the causes, the conditions as outlined exist and 
must be considered in the markets. 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL 

Storage of wool. — Most woolen mills have storehouses 
for the raw wool as it comes from the markets. Here the 
wool is piled up in proper order so that the various quali- 
ties may be readily found whenever wanted. The stock- 
keeping system usually employed here is very much like 
that of the retail storekeeper. 

Wool sorting. — The first step in the manufacture of 
wool is the sorting. The fleeces come to the factory tied 
in bundles as they left the farms or sheep ranches, several 
fleeces often being packed in one large bag weighing several 
hundred pounds. These bags are brought into the sorting 
room and opened. The strings holding the bundles are cut 
and the fleeces are spread out on tables, placed preferably 
in a good north light, for the sorters who work at the tables 
must have the best lighting conditions in distinguishing the 
various kinds or qualities of wool in a fleece. The top of 
the table is usually made of wire netting to permit dust, 
sand, and other dirt to fall through when loosened from 
the wool. 

We have seen that there are numerous kinds of wool. 
But the varieties do not stop with the classifications as out- 
lined in previous chapters. Every fleece comprises several 
kinds of wool. The wool is not uniform over the entire 
body of the sheep. Some parts are longer than others, some 
are finer, some cleaner. The fleece, then, must be duly 
divided into parts in order to get the uniform wool desired. 
The best wool comes from the sides of the sheep, the next 

155 



156 TEXTILES 

best from the back and thighs, that from the belly and 
throat is inferior, and the poorest wool comes from the 
breech and lower part of the legs. In some cases the 
fleece is divided into more than these four classes of wool. 
In fact, mills making fine woolens and worsteds may dis- 
tinguish from eight to ten or even more classes of wool in 
the average fleece. 




Diagram of a Sheep's Fleece, Showing Grades of Wool. 

1. Best grades. 3. Fair grades. 

2. Lowest grades. 4. Medium grades. 

In the woolen trade these classes are known as picklock, 
prime, choice, super, head, downrights, seconds, abbs, and 
breech. In the worsted trade somewhat different terms are 
used for the different classes. Here the usual classes are 
fine, blue, neat, brown drawings, breech, cowtail, brokes, 
and so on down the range of quality. Another system of 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL 157 

classification is the naming of each class by the number of 
yarn that it will make, as for example 40's, 6o's, and 8o's 
wool. 

The finest wool grows over the finest flesh on the sheep. 
The following table gives a good general idea of the grades 
of wool found in a single fleece. 

Grades or Wool in a Fleece 

Head and sides of sheep Long, uniform, the best of the sheep 

Lower part of back Slightly less fine and not so soft 

Loin and back Still less fine, rather tender 

Upper part of legs Medium coarse 

Upper portions of neck Inferior 

Central part of neck Inferior 

Belly Poor quality, short, dirty 

Root of tail Coarse, short, glossy 

Lower part of legs Dirty, greasy, straight, coarse 

Head Stiff, straight, coarse, full of fodder 

Throat Stiff, straight, coarse, full of fodder 

Chest Stiff, straight, coarse, full of fodder 

Shins Glossy, straight 

Method of sorting wool in fleeces. — The wool sorter 
first divides the fleece into two parts along the line of the 
back. Next he cleans out the worst part of the wool, the 
lumps of dirt, large burrs, and other roughage. Beginning 
thus on the outer edges he works inward on the fleece, tear- 
ing the wool out with his hands and throwing the various 
grades of wool into various piles or baskets, or sometimes 
into holes in the floor that lead to bins on a lower floor. 

The job of sorting wool is not particularly pleasing or 
cleanly. The wool is always greasy and often very dirty, 
and not infrequently filled with sharp thistles, thorns, and 
burrs. The wool sorter grows accustomed to this, his hands 
finally growing so hard that the ordinary impurities in the 
wool have no effect on them. When the sheep have been 
diseased, there is danger of the sorter contracting the same 
disease, although with ordinary care the wool sorter is as 



158 TEXTILES 

safe as a workman in any other occupation. Of course, all 
danger from disease is entirely done away with in the wash- 
ing and scouring processes that follow. 

Wool scouring. — After the wool is sorted, it must be 
washed. Some of the foreign substances in the raw wool 
can be removed simply by washing in water, but the grease 
requires a solvent such as soap or gasolene. There are two 
kinds of common alkalies used in the manufacture of soap, 
caustic potash and caustic soda. The latter is cheaper but 
the potash is safer for use on wool, since the caustic soda 
is likely to cause damage to the finer fibers. Hence caustic 
potash soap is more generally used in washing wool. Sev- 
eral other cleansing substances are frequently employed, 
such as ammonia, special preparations like Wyandotte Tex- 
tile soda, and sal ammoniac. To a certain extent gasolene 
or some form of petroleum naphtha is used to remove the 
grease, especially in very large mills. It is excellent for 
this purpose, but the wool still requires washing after its 
use ; this process therefore takes more time and money than 
soap washing, and is naturally not widely used b}^ the 
wool manufacturers. 

Mechanical scourers. — The wool is generally washed in 
large vats or tanks arranged in series, the length of the 
whole apparatus often being more than fifty feet. These 
vats or tubs are fitted with mechanical rakes which drag 
the wool through the suds. The temperature of the water 
is a matter of importance. If allowed to get too hot, the 
wool will lose its flufiiness; if the water is too cold, it is 
hard to wash out the grease. The usual temperature is 
below 1 20 degrees Fahrenheit, about that preferred in 
careful laundries in washing woolens. Naturally the tem- 
perature should be somewhat adjusted to the kind of wool, 
to its fineness, and to the amount of dirt therein. 

After being washed thoroughly in from one to three 
vats of suds, and wrung out after each washing by being 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL 159 

passed through heavy wringers fixed at the end of each 
vat, the wool is finally rinsed in warm clean water, and the 
washing is completed. The whole process takes less than 
ten minutes in a modern plant. 

Wool drying. — Next the wool is conveyed to a drying 
machine. In this machine the wool is moved backwards 
and forwards and tumbled in all directions, while at the 
same time currents of dry, warm air are forced through 
it. In the recent, improved types of machinery, this entire 
process takes only about five minutes. 

Some moisture left in the wool. — The wool is not even 
now absolutely dry. It is allowed to retain a certain per- 
centage of moisture for the reason that it works better 
in this condition than if it were bone dry. When too dry, 
wool is brittle. On the other hand, left too wet, it will 
not go through the machines well, and lacks elasticity. The 
proper amount of moisture has been computed accurately, 
machines have been devised to test the wool as to its mois- 
ture, and still other machines to apply the proper amount. 
Such mechanisms are called conditioning machines. The 
amount of moisture considered best for the proper work- 
ing of wool is about sixteen per cent of the total weight of 
the wool. 

Burr picking. — After the wool is dried, it is generally 
passed through other machines that pick out the burrs and 
other large impurities which the sorting and washing could 
not or didlnot remove. Not only are the larger burrs and 
other foreign matters removed mechanically, but any dust' 
or fine sand that may have come through is blown out and 
sifted out of the wool in these machines. In spite, however, 
of the best that all of these processes can do, some vege- 
table matter nearly always remains tangled up in the wool, 
and cannot be removed by hand or by means of machines. 
Much more of this may be found in one wool than in an- 
other, and the student can readily see that this difference 



i6o TEXTILES 

may be due largely to the differences in care given the sheep 
with regard to cleanliness. 

Carbonizing.— The vegetable matter is removed by chem- 
ical means, a process called wool carbonizing. The method 
is comparatively simple. The wool to be carbonized is 
placed in tanks containing solutions of some strong acid 
like chloride of aluminum, hydrochloric, or sulphuric acid. 
Here it remains for a period of twelve hours, during which 
it is stirred several times. The acid, if it is not too strong, 
does not affect the woolen fibers, but attacks all vegetable 
matter and causes it to crumble. At the end of twelve 
hours the wool is taken out of the acid tanks and placed 
in an oven to dry. The temperature is raised to about i6o° 
or 170° Fahrenheit, not so warm as seriously to harm the 
woolen fibers, but warm enough to cause the acid to eat or 
burn up the vegetable matter. When dried, the vegetable 
matter will be found reduced to a crisp and, on shaking 
the wool, will fall out easily in the form of dust. Even 
large burrs, straw, seeds, etc., can be removed in this way, 
but the risk in the use of acids and heat is such that the 
process is generally used only for disposing of the finer par- 
ticles that the burr pickers and other machines cannot get 
at. The chemical carbonizing process came into use in the 
wool-manufacturing industry about 1880. 

Loosening and oiling the wool. — After all of these clean- 
ing processes the wool is run through another machine that 
takes the wool (which is now in mats and lumps) and picks 
it to pieces so that it all looks like a sheet of cotton batting; 
the same machine sprinkles a fine spray of olive oil or lard 
oil over the whole mass. This oiling causes the wool to 
work through the machines easily and prevents the fibers 
from flying about when the spinning and drawing begins. 
The lard oil is, of course, much cheaper than olive oil, but 
is not so cleanly and smooth in its effects on the wool ; hence 
is used on the coarser, cheaper yarns. Lard oil is further- 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL i6i 

more likely to turn rancid. After the oiling the wool fiber 
is ready for the carding machines. 

Ripening. — When the wool has been oiled, some manu- 
facturers, especially those who use the ''class three" wools, 
the stiff, wiry carpet wools, roll it up in balls and let it 
''ripen" for a time, in some cases as long as two weeks. The 
oil meanwhile penetrates the fibers thoroughly, softens them, 
and makes them much easier to handle in the carding and 
spinning that follows. Other manufacturers send the wool 
directly from the oiling machines to the carding machines. 



WOOLENS AND WORSTEDS 

At this point the method of treating wool divides into 
two different processes, one for the making of woolens and 
the other for the making of worsteds. The main differ- 
ence between woolens and worsteds is that woolens are 
made from yarns in which the fibers are crossed and inter- 
mixed in a more or less indefinite manner while in worsteds 
the fibers in the yarn have all been combed out so that 
they lie parallel to each other. It is easier to comb the 
longer wools; hence, in times past, before the modern im- 
proved combing machines were invented, the long varieties 
of wool were called combing wools, while the short varieties 
of wools were called carding wools, the kind used in mak- 
ing woolens. This distinction is no longer a practical one, 
for both classes of wool are now used in both the carding 
and combing operations. The only thing that the wool 
manufacturer 1:onsiders now in choosing his wools is the 
price and the peculiar qualities that he desires in his fin- 
ished cloth. The worsted manufacturer may find that he 
can get the short wools of the quality to make just the kind 
of worsted cloth he wants at a lower price than that of the 
long wools; naturally, then, since modern machines permit, 



i62 TEXTILES 

he will use the shorts. Usually, however, the fine long 
wools go into the manufacture of worsteds. 

Mixing. — The processes that follow are somewhat simi- 
lar to those found in cotton manufacturing, the main dif- 
ferences being in the styles of the machines, and their ad- 
justments to the woolen fiber. Where there are to be sev- 
eral varieties or grades of wool used in making the same 
yarn, they are mixed in proper proportions in bins like 
those used for mixing cotton. For example, if three varie- 
ties or grades are to be used in certain proportions, the 
proper amount of each grade is weighed out and trans- 
ferred to the bin where the mixing is to take place. The 
first grade is laid down evenly over the entire floor of the 
bin. Next the second grade is laid down in the same uni- 
form manner, and finally the third grade ; the entire mass is 
thereupon packed down thoroughly. When wool from this 
bin is wanted, it is removed by vertical sections including 
all wool from top to bottom, a process which secures the 
proper proportions of each grade in practically every arm- 
ful. 

Carding and spinning of woolen yarns. — Next the wool 
is fed into the hoppers of the carding machines. These 
hoppers are fitted with self-feeding devices that deliver 
the wool evenly to the carding cylinders. We need not de- 
scribe these machines in any great detail. The wool is de- 
livered from the cards in the form of a thin cotton-batting- 
like sheet very loose and filmy in texture and with the 
fibers running in every direction. The whole sheet is then 
shaped into narrow bands or ropes, called "slivers," and 
wound on large spools or bobbins. The bobbins are taken 
to the spinning room where the sliver is drawn out to the 
proper thickness and spun into yarn. The woolen yarn 
produced in this way is covered with a fuzz which is char- 
acteristic of woolens. Woolen yarns are usually spun on 
mule frames since these spinning machines leave the yarn 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL 163 

with a more fuzzy, oozy appearance and feeling than do 
the ring frames. The principle of wool spinning is the same 
as that of cotton spinning. The yarn comes from the spin- 
ning on paper cops, tubes, or bobbins. In this form it is 
ready for the weave room processes. 

Sizes in woolen yarns. — The size of woolen yarn is de- 
termined in various ways in different places. There is no 
standard system of sizes or counts in woolen yarns as there 
is in cotton yarns. Two systems are common in this coun- 
try, one known as the "American run counts" and the other 
the "Philadelphia counts." The American run of yarn 
is about 1,600 yards. This is taken as the base. If the 
yarn of that length weighs one pound it is called size i. 
Yarn running 16,000 yards to the pound would be called 
lo's, and so on. Obviously, the coarser the yarn the lower 
the number of the run. A No. 1 or No. 2 run yarn is very 
coarse and would be used in overcoatings, blankets, and 
cotton warp goods, where all the weight was furnished by 
the filling. No. 3 and No. 4 yarns are medium, and Nos. 
6y^ to 10 are fine. 

In the Philadelphia system the base is a "cut" which is 
300 yards in length. When the yarn runs 3,000 yards to 
the pound, it is called No. 10 cut yarn. When it runs 
9,000 yards to the pound it is called No. 30 cut yarn, and 
so on. A No. 5 cut yarn is very coarse; No. 18 to No. 20 
cut yarns are medium; and No. 30 to No. 35 cut yarns are 
•fine. 

In Europe there are several systems such as the metric 
or international, the English, the Prussian, the Saxon, the 
Viennese, and the French. Each differs considerably from 
the others. We need not concern ourselves about these sys- 
tems here. * 

Uses of woolen yarns. — Woolen yarns are used in mak- 
ing fabrics in which colors and figures are to be blended. 
Some of the ordinary woolens are broadcloth, flannel, blank- 



i64 TEXTILES 

etings, doeskin, beaver, cheviot, tweed, chinchilla, frieze, 
kersey, melton, and cassimeres. 
The combing and carding processes for worsteds. — 

Wool that is to be made into worsted yarn is also carded, 
but with the result that the wool fibers are straightened out 
and made to lie generally parallel in direction rather than 
in the tangled form of the wool that comes from the woolen 
cards previously described. In this respect the cards used 
in making worsted yarn are more like those used in cotton 
manufacture than are the cards used in making woolen 
yarns; for in both cotton manufacture and the making of 
worsteds, the purpose of carding is to lay the fibers more 
regularly. What the carding machine does for the wool is 
not sufficient to make worsted yarn. Other fiber straighten- 
ing processes must be employed. The wool is delivered 
from the carding machines in the form of a soft rope 
similar to that from the woolen cards described in the 
preceding paragraphs. This rope, called the "card sliver," 
is wound on wooden rolls into the shape of a large ball, 
or else is dropped into a tall metal can in such a way that 
it may be drawn out without difficulty or danger of tangling. 
Gilling and combing.— In the form of card sliver, the 
wool is sent through gilling machines, several slivers at a 
time, and this process straightens the fibers of the wool 
a little more. From the gilling machine the wool comes off 
in soft strands. Four of these at a time are rolled up into 
a ball, and in this form the wool is taken to the combing- 
machine proper. Eighteen of these balls are placed in the 
frame of the combing machine at one time. The ends of 
the slivers are properly attached to the combing apparatus 
and the machine started. Its operations are automatic. It 
needs but little attention except to replace the balls as soon 
as the first ones are exhausted, and to remove the combed 
wool which comes out in the form of a fine strand or 
sliver now called a 'Hop." 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL 165 

The combing machine perfectly straightens out all the 
fibers, removes the short stock, the imperfect, knurly fibers, 
nibs, etc. This waste matter that comes out of the combing 
machine is called ''noils." It can be used in various ways, 
as we shall see later on. 

Combing machines. — There are four types of combs. 
The French or Heilman comb is suitable for combing the 
very short wools, especially those from South America. 
It is used extensively in France and is gaining in favor 
elsewhere for preparing soft yarns for dress goods. The 
square 'motion or Holden comb is adapted to wools of 
medium length but has not been widely adopted. The nip 
or Lister comb is used for combing the long varieties of 
wool, mohair, and alpaca. The comb most widely used, 
especially in the United States, because of its adaptability 
to average wools, is the Noble comb. This is really made 
up of three circular combs, two smaller ones revolving inside 
the larger and touching it at two points. Into the inter- 
section of the circular combs, which all revolve in the same 
direction, the uncombed rope of wool is pressed by means 
of a brush. As the circles diverge, the wool, now imbedded 
in the teeth of the comb, is drawn through the teeth and 
left protruding from the inside of the large circle and 
from the outside of the small circles. The final operation 
collects these protruding ends and draws them off in a 
continuous and parallel rope or top. The short wool or 
noil, which is removed from the long fiber, is left in 
the small circles and from there removed by noil knives, 
falling as waste under the comb. 

Gill boxes. — A number of the strands as they come from 
the combs are again combined and run through other ma- 
chines called gill boxes. These reduce the strands to uni- 
form size and again comb the yarn. The strands from the 
gill boxes are once more wound into large balls, and in this 
form are called "finished tops." 



i66 TEXTILES 

Combing is not always done by the mill that does the 
spinning and weaving. In fact some worsted goods manu- 
facturers begin their processes with tops. The wool in this 
form may be purchased both in the markets and by con- 
tract with factories having combing machines. America 
both exports and imports large quantities of tops. England 
produces large quantities for Sweden, Germany, Italy, and 
Japan. 

Drawing. — After the combing is completed, the tops are 
sent through drawing machines to reduce the size of the 
strand, and finally they are ready for twisting or spinning. 
It is then called "roving." It takes a variable number of 
machines to change the wool from tops to roving. Some- 
times the strands pass through as many as eight or nine 
processes all tending to draw the strand a little finer. The 
finer the yarn that is to be made, the finer the roving must 
be, and therefore the more times the tops must be passed 
through the drawing machines. 

Spinning. — In the last stages of the drawing a little 
twist is given to the roving to give it greater strength: 
Spinning consists in giving the yarn the full number of 
twists required. This number varies with the uses to 
which the yarn is to be put, and with the size. Yarns for 
clothing worsted average about fifteen turns to the inch 
in the finished yarns. 

Spinning machines. — Worsted yarns are spun by two dif- 
ferent sets of machines, one known as the Bradford system, 
named after the great worsted spinning center in England, 
and the other as the French system. The former is the 
older method and the one most frequently used in England 
and in certain parts of this country. The French system, 
however, seems to be supplanting the Bradford system. By 
this system it is possible to use the short wools in making 
worsted yarns. The French system also makes a fuzzier or 
more wooly yarn than the Bradford, and for many fabrics 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL 167 

this is very desirable. Again, French worsteds shrink less 
than the Bradford worsteds, another decided advantagre. 
Still another is that the wool spurl by the French system 
needs less oil. This is quite a saving, counting not only the 
oil but the soap that is required to wash the oil out after the 
yarn is made, and the time and labor it takes to perform 
the oiling and washing. 

The difference between the French and the Bradford 
systems in technique is largely in the way the yarns are 
drawn out. The French system puts no twist in the yarn 
until it is fully drawn out for spinning. The openness of 
the fiber is preserved down to the last. The roving is then 
always spun on a mule frame and not on the cap or ring 
frame spinning machines. The product is a fine, soft, lofty 
yarn that is used for fine dress goods and fine knit goods. 
The Bradford yarns are more suitable for hard woven 
fabrics. 

The cap-frame and the ring-frame spinning machines pro- 
duce yarns the most rapidly. Since the cap-frame type is 
even more rapid than the ring-frame, it is best liked by the 
American producers of worsteds. The speed at which cap 
frames are run is so great that the yarn becomes somewhat 
rough because of the centrifugal force at the point where 
the yarn is wound on the spindle. For finer yarns the ring 
frame is used. For the finest yarns, as has already been 
stated, the mule frame is still the best spinning machine. 

Worsted yarn sizes. — Worsted yarns are often twisted 
double or two-ply, and sometimes three- and four-ply. 
Single yarns are measured by a count system based on the 
hank of 560 yards. If there are 560 yards of yarn in a 
pound, the yarn is called No. i or simply I's yarn; 32 times 
560 yards in a pound would be called 32's yarn, and 60 times 
560 yards in a pound would be called 6o's yarn. This 
system of counts is found in both England and the United 
States. The low counts of yarns are used only for knit- 



I68 TEXTILES 

ting heavy sweaters; 30's to 40's are comparatively coarse 
for worsteds; 40's to 56's are medium; and 6o's up to lOo's 
are fine yarns. Good half-blood wool will make up into 
6o's worsted yarn. Counts above 8o's are infrequent. When 
two 6o's yarns are twisted together the yarn is designated 
as 2/60's and is read "two-sixties." In the same way there 
are 2/80's, 3/56's, 4/60's, and so on. A great deal of yarn 
is marketed in every spinning district, and quotations on 
the standard sizes may easily be found in any textile jour- 
nal at any time. Considerable worsted yarn is used for 
ornamental needlework and knitting; among such yarns 
are Berlin wool, Zephyr, and Saxony. Much of the worsted 
yarn goes into knit goods and underwear, but the great- 
est portion goes into the manufacture of cloth for women's 
dresses and for men's suitings. The carpet wools are gen- 
erally worked up into worsted yarns for the better grades 
of carpets and rugs ; some good rugs are made from woolen 
yarns also. 

Weaving. — The weaving processes for woolens and 
worsteds are so similar to those for cotton goods, already 
described, that there need be no repetition here. The prod- 
ucts of the loom are either plain, twill, pile, double, or fig- 
ured weaves. 

Woolen fabrics. — Among the plain weaves in the woolens 
are the homespuns, broadcloths, kerseys, meltons, and 
others. Among twills in woolens are the doeskins, tweeds, 
cheviots, and cashmeres. The pile cloths, such as plushes 
and velvets, are generally made from worsted yarns, at least 
that portion that is used in producing the pile. Woolen 
double weaves include beavers, chinchillas, and like 
fabrics. 

Worsted fabrics. — Worsteds are made up into all kinds 
of weaves used in the manufacture of cloth, though some 
form of twill is most common, especially for the suitings 
into which large amounts of worsteds are made. Examples 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL 169 

are the clay and unfinished worsteds, serges, woolen Bed- 
ford cords, whipcords, diagonals, Venetian cloths, wool 
crepes, panamas, etc. 

Mixing wool with other textiles. — Both woolens and 
worsteds are often cheapened by the addition of cotton in 
various proportions. Wool is sometimes mixed with silk 
in various proportions in the production of fancy goods. 
Such mixtures of different textiles, cotton and wool, wool 
and silk, and the like, are known as union goods. Cotton 
is used in both the Avoolen and worsted cloth industries, al- 
most entirely in the warp. Wool is used as the filling, as 
in cotton warp dress goods, cotton worsteds for men's wear, 
cotton warp blankets, and the Hke, To a certain extent, 
raw cotton is mixed with wool in producing "merino" or 
mixed yarns which are used in making certain cotton mixed 
woolen goods. 

Cotton in knit goods. — In the knit goods lines the use 
of cotton has increased very rapidly during the last twenty 
years. This change has resulted because of at least four 
reasons : 

1. Cotton is cheaper than wool, pound for pound, and yard 

for yard ; hence is used as a matter of economy. 

2. Cotton, with only slight mixtures of wool, can be made 

to appear like pure wool in knit goods; hence there 
has been much adulteration. 

3. Changes and improvements in house heating systems 

have made unnecessary the old-time heavy flannels 
and all-wool underwear and hosiery. The cotton 
mixed goods are lighter and cooler than the all-wool 
goods. 

4. Cotton mixed with wool produces a fabric that does not 

shrink as the old-time woolens did, hence in some 
ways is more desirable. 
Before any of the fabrics produced by the looms or knit- 
ting machines are placed on the market, they must first re- 



I70 TEXTILES 

ceive certain finishing processes. These processes and 
their appHcation will be taken up in later chapters. 

Wool wastes or by-products. — In the production of wool 
from the raw material to the finished product a consider- 
able number of so-called wastes occur. By-products would 
probably be a better name, for there are no wastes of ma- 
terial, strictly speaking, in a modern high-class woolen- 
manufacturing organization. Certain portions of the raw 
wool must be thrown aside when making certain classes 
of goods, but this raw material is used in making other 
goods. For example, at the very start of the manufactur- 
ing processes, as a result of the sorting, several different 
sizes of yarns are made from wool of the same fleece, and 
the parts not suited for making up into yarns are used in 
the manufacture of felt and padding. 

Grease and potash. — In the washing process two by- 
products occur which are usually sufficient in quantity to 
pay for the washing. The grease in the sheep's wool is 
saved whenever it is removed by the petroleum-naphtha 
method. The refined product is called lanoline, a substance 
used as a base for medical salves and as a grease in soap 
making. In the ordinary wool-washing process, besides the 
grease, a considerable amount of potash is washed out. 
Potash in the wool comes from the perspiration of the 
sheep. It is said to be profitable to extract it from the 
water used in washing the wool. Potash has numerou- 
uses running from medical preparations to fertilizer f .r 
land. 

Soft waste. — But even when the proper variety of wocl 
has been selected and the process of manufacture begun, 
naturally not every particle will go through into the finished 
product. A certain amount of fiber flies off in the carding 
operation and this, settling on the floors near by, is known 
as "carding waste." A considerable amount is rejected by 
the combing machines ; this is called "noils." In the draw- 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL 171 

ing machines, certain portions of the tops are broken off or 
become entangled in the machinery. These pieces are re- 
moved by the machine tenders. If these pieces come from 
tops, they are called ''top waste," and if from slubbing or 
roving, they are called "slubbing waste" or "roving waste." 
These wastes constitute what are known as "soft wastes," 
since they may be reclaimed directly by simply running them 
back into the carding machine along with the new wool. 

Use of noils. — Noils, however, are not used in the manu- 
facture of the same class of goods as those from which 
the noils are removed. Noils are generally taken from the 
worsted plants and sold to the carded woolen yarn produc- 
ers. They form very important parts in the manufacture 
of woolens and knit goods, the recent census showing that 
nearly half of the raw material used in the manufacture of 
these goods was either noils from the worsted mills or 
shoddy. 

Shoddy and garnet. — Shoddy is fiber manufactured by 
shredding woolen yarns and rags. The fiber from waste 
yarns is called "garnet." Both varieties taken together are 
called "hard waste" in contradistinction to the soft waste 
just described. The yarns that are shredded are the wastes, 
the ends, and tangled pieces from the spinning mills ; 
and the rags include new pieces from the cutting tables 
of ready-made suit and cloak houses, tailor shops, and 
wherever there are cuttings from woolen fabrics ; old scraps 
of cloth are also used, such as men's and women's wornout 
garments, suitings, coatings, sweaters, stockings, dress 
goods, and the like. 

The rag business. — The old-rag business begins with the 
familiar country peddler or city pushcart man who gathers 
all kinds of old junk, among which there is a relatively 
small amount of woolen rags. At the end of his day's 
work, the peddler disposes of his heterogeneous collection 
to the small dealer in the town or city. The rags thus pur- 



172 TEXTILES 

chased by the dealer are both cotton and wool. He first 
separates the cotton from the wool. The former he sells 
to the paper mills or to jobbers; the latter he sorts into 
three grades: i. rough cloth; 2. skirted cloth; 3. soft 
woolens. Rough cloth is made up of street rags and other 
coarse and much-worn woolens, which are ground up and 
used in making felt paper and machine waste. Skirted 
cloth is the hard-woven fabrics, chiefly men's suitings and 
heavy coats. The term skirted refers to the tearing out of 
the linings. Soft woolens are made up of sweaters, stock- 
ings, hoods, soft dress goods known as merinos, and other 
soft and loosely woven fabrics. 

The skirted cloth and soft woolens are sold to a larger 
dealer, who finally sorts the rags into hundreds of classes 
according to the demands of the shoddy trade. These rags, 
generally very dusty, are sorted as a rule by poorly paid 
women into the numerous sorts depending upon the quality, 
structure, composition, and color of the rags. 

The business in new rags is also important. These rags 
are collected from the smaller tailor establishments and 
sweatshops and are sold as "mixed new clips" to the 
large dealer. The dealer also buys the cuttings from the 
large ready-made clothing establishments, where a great 
many clippings are wasted in cutting garments. New rags 
are smaller than old, and therefore the sorting of them is 
slower. Grades are made on the basis of quality, color, 
construction, and composition. 

Shoddy grinding machines. — The rags after proper sort- 
ing are ground up in machines that loosen all of the fibers 
and tear them apart until the material is reduced to the con- 
sistency and structure of loose wool. This is then ready 
to be passed through the carding, drawing, and spinning 
operations in the same way as new wool. It is sometimes 
worked up into yarns by itself. Oftener it is mixed with 
new wool or with cotton. When made from a good quality 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL 173 

of rags shoddy may be of very good quality. In fact, good 
shoddy may be better in every way than poor new wool. 
Whatever the quality of the yarns or of the rags that go 
into the reducing machines, that will be the quality of the 
shoddy, except for one condition. The harder woven the 
fabric is, the harder it is to tear apart, and consequently 
more of the wool fibers will be torn to pieces. On account 
of this shortening of the fibers by tearing, the shoddy yarns 
cannot be as strong as the original yarns. 

Mungo.—Mungo is a low-grade shoddy. It is usually 
made from the hardest woven woolen and worsted fabric. 
It has but little strength and is used mainly as a filler with 
other wools or with cotton. Most of it is used in the manu- 
facture of blankets. 

Flocks. — Flocks are the short fibers or nap shorn from 
the surface of woven fabrics in the finishing room. This 
substance is so short and fine that it looks like pulverized 
wool and is often so called. After the nap on a cloth has 
been raised it is finished off by shearing. The shearing 
machine acts like a lawn mower in cutting the raised nap; 
the short wool clipped off is known as flocks, used in the 
fulling process to give body and weight to cheap fabrics, 
and also for lining rubber coats and like articles. 

Extract wool. — The wool in cotton-mixed goods is ex- 
tracted by carbonizing, the same chemical process that we 
found used in freeing the raw wool from vegetable matter. 
The cotton-and-wool-mixed rags are soaked in an acid 
solution and then heated. This process burns out or car- 
bonizes the vegetable matter, but damages the wool fiber 
very little. Later the cotton ash or dust is removed, where- 
upon the remaining wool is washed, dried, and ground up 
into loose fiber like other shoddy. 

Uses of wool wastes. — In general, the waste wool prod- 
ucts just enumerated are used in the carded woolen and 
knit goods industries. The noils obtained from combing 



174 TEXTILES 

the long varieties of wool are frequently spun and made 
into cheviots. Sometimes these noils are mixed with short- 
wool noils or with cotton, sometimes with both. The short- 
wool noils are generally used in producing plain and fancy 
woolens or soft fabrics. They are sometimes mixed with 
cotton in making warp. Shoddies are used largely in fabrics 
of the cheviot class, tweeds, union goods, backing yarns, 
knit goods, and blankets. Only the best blankets are made 
entirely of new wool. All sorts of wool substitutes, shoddy, 
noils, wool waste, and cotton are extensively used in mak- 
ing ordinary blankets. It is a marvel to the uninitiated how 
the extremely short and poor wastes and shoddy can be 
spun into a yarn and finally into a cotton warp blanket. 
The very poorest wool wastes and extracts are put into 
horse blankets and into such hospital blankets as must be 
burned after use. 

Effects of fashion. — Not only cheapness but fashion as 
well has a great deal to do with the output of products con- 
taining shoddy and other wool wastes. When fashion fa- 
vors the kinds of fabrics in which shoddy can be used ad- 
vantageously, the use of shoddy increases. Naturally 
shoddy can be used in woolens more readily than in wor- 
steds, but during the last twenty years, worsteds have been 
rapidly gaining in public favor at the expense of woolen 
goods. At present worsteds consume about four times as 
much wool as woolens do in this country. But there have 
been brief fads in the use of rough-finished woolen goods 
such as cheviots, tweeds, cassimeres, and chinchillas. The 
demand for rough wool sweaters and other knit goods is 
also an opportunity for the use of noils, shoddy, wool ex- 
tract, and other wool substitutes. 

The place of shoddy among textiles. — The process of re- 
claiming wool from woolen rags, that is, the production of 
shoddy, was invented in England over a hundred years 
ago but did not come into great use until about fifty years 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOL 175 

ago. There has been tremendous increase in the use of 
shoddy during the last few years, and it is Hkely that this 
is but the beginning of a much wider use. It is certain 
that as wool becomes higher in price, shoddy must supply 
the demand for warm, wool garments of a low and medium 
cost. In some lines, such as knit goods, the use of shoddy 
has superseded the use of new wool. It seems that some"! 
sort of regulation should be adopted to prevent the fre- 
quent injustice of selling shoddy for new wool, for it is 
very difficult and in some cases practically impossible to 
distinguish shoddy from new wool except in the wear. 
Dealers and consumers need to insist on getting what they 
pay for. Shoddy is all right at shoddy prices but not at 
the price of new high-grade wool. 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE GEOGRAPHY OF WOOL PRODUCTION 

General facts. — The facts regarding the production of 
raw wool in this country, the number of sheep, and our im- 
ports of wool may be best described by means of a chart 
which was prepared by the U. S. Tariff Board in 191 1; a 
copy of this chart is reproduced in this chapter. 

In Figure 2 is shown the total wool production of all the 
sheep-raising countries in the world. Figure 3 shows the 
comparative number of sheep in each of these countries. 
It will be interesting to note that Russia has more sheep 
than either Argentina or the United States but that she 
produces less wool than either. New Zealand comes eighth 
in number of sheep, but fifth in amount of wool production. 
The student will recall that in the case of Russia a good 
deal of Class III wool, the poorest class, is produced, and 
that New Zealand produces a very high-grade merino and 
crossbred wool. Other interesting comparisons may be 
made from the same charts. 

Figure 4 shows the relative wool production of the great 
wool-producing areas in the world. Figure 5 shows the 
production of wool in each state of the United States, and 
Figure i shows both the countries from which this country 
imports wool and the amounts imported from each, accord- 
ing to the three great classes of wool — short wools, long 
wools, and coarse carpet wools. 

Primary wool markets. — The raw wool markets of the 
world are of two classes, primary wool markets and con- 

176 



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178 TEXTILES 

centration points. First, there are primary markets where 
the wool changes hands from the grower to dealer or other 
buyer. These primary markets are numerous and widely 
scattered, especially in this country. There are a few 
places, however, which because of their location in the 
sheep-range country have become prominently known as 
primary markets. Among these are Billings, Big Timber, 
and Great Falls in Montana, and San Francisco, San Diego, 
and Portland on the Pacific Coast. 

Concentration points. — More important still are the con- 
centration points, where raw wool is handled in large quan- 
tities, bought and sold by dealers and manufacturers, ex- 
porters and importers. London is the greatest wool market 
in the world. Here wools from all over the world, par- 
ticularly the finer grades, are brought and sold to buyers 
from all parts of England, the Continent, and even the 
United States. Sydney in New South Wales, Australia, 
comes second in quantity and value of wool handled. 

The growth of Sydney as a wool market has been rapid 
during the last few years. Formerly it was a point of ex- 
port for London and other European markets, but now 
buyers are coming to Sydney from all manufacturing coun- 
tries, from England, Scotland, Germany, France, Belgium, 
Austria, Italy, Japan, and the United States. Sydney now 
markets more merino wool than even London. It is also 
a primary market for large numbers of sheep in New South 
Wales. Some of the wool warehouses found there cover 
six to eight acres and are from five to six floors high. Most' 
of them are equipped with the most modern arrangements 
for baling, for storage, and for keeping the wool in the 
proper condition. 

The other principal markets of Australia are Melbourne, 
Geelong, Adelaide, and Brisbane. Cape Town in South 
Africa, Buenos Aires in Argentina, and Montevideo in Uru- 
guay are other highly important wool markets. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF WOOL PRODUCTION 179 

The carpet wools are first marketed in the countries 
where produced. Among the important points from which 
America and England get carpet wools are Constantinople, 
Bagdad, Aleppo, and Smyrna, all in Turkish dominions; 
Karachi and Bombay in India; Tientsin and Shanghai in 
China; Urga and Biisk in Mongolia; and Rostoff, Odessa, 
and Moscow in Russia. 

The chief raw wool market in the United States is Bos- 
ton. Philadelphia comes second, while Chicago and New 
York are also important. 

Centralization of wool manufacturing. — Wool manufac- 
turing is very widely distributed in one form or another. 
In only the modern, highly improved machine processes is 
a decided centralization of production found. A few of 
the more important wool goods producing centers of the 
world are considered here. 

United States. — In worsted goods Massachusetts ranks 
first among the American states; then come Pennsylvania 
and Rhode Island. Lawrence, Massachusetts; Providence, 
Rhode Island; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Cleveland, 
Ohio, are the noted worsted producing cities of the coun- 
try. Pennsylvania has the largest number of woolen mills, 
but Massachusetts produces the greatest amount of woolen 
cloth. Woolen goods are more widely produced than are 
the worsteds. Carpet and rug weaving is practically con- 
fined to Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. Of 
hosiery and knit goods. New York produces the most; 
Pennsylvania ranks second; Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, 
and Wisconsin follow in the order given. 

England. — In England nearly three-fourths of the woolen 
industries are found in the western part of Yorkshire in or 
near the city of Bradford. Bradford is important as a 
distributing center of raw materials, as the center of worsted 
combing and spinning, and as the center for the production 
of worsted stuffs or dress goods for women's wear. Hud- 



i8o TEXTILES 

dersfield is the center for the production of the best worsted 
goods for men's wear. Fancy cheap woolens made in imi- 
tation of Scotch tweeds are made in the Colne Valley- 
near Huddersfield. Colne Valley woolens are known the 
world over as cheap materials. Heavy woolens, overcoat- 
ings, cheap cloakings, blankets, and army cloths are made 
in and near Dewsbury and Batley. This is the center of 
the shoddy and rag business, and much of the reclaimed 
wool, by skillful blending and manipulation, is turned into 
cheap but serviceable fabrics. Fabrics made at Morley are 
the lowest quality made. Leeds, once noted for its broad- 
cloths, has now taken up the manufacture of worsted coat- 
ings, serges, etc. Halifax is best known as a producer of 
worsted yarn. Rochdale in Lancashire is important for 
its flannels, Stroud in western England has the reputation 
of making the finest woolens in the world, Kidderminster 
is the most important carpet center; while Leicester, parts 
of Nottingham, and Derby are important in the production 
of hosiery. 

Scotland. — In Scotland the manufacture of Scotch tweeds 
is an important industry, Galashiels being the most im- 
portant center. 

Germany. — Wool manufactories are found all over the 
German Empire. There is no such single important center 
as Bradford, England; furthermore the various localities 
each produce both woolens and worsteds. Some of the 
greatest manufacturing cities are Blumenthal, Hamburg, 
Leipzig, Dohren, Mylau, Plauen, Muhlhausen, Gera, 
Aachen, Breslau, and Forst. Among the nations, Germany 
is the third greatest producer of woolen goods in the world. 

France. — In France, the Department of the North, which 
borders on Belgium, is the most important wool-manufac- 
turing center. Nearly all the combing is done here, and 
most of the spinning and weaving as well. Roubaix is the 
chief city in the business. In a way its leadership is com- 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF WOOL PRODUCTION i8i 

parable to that of Bradford, England, but, of course, on a 
smaller scale. Tourcoing and Fourmies, other towns in 
the same department, are also important. The town of 
Elboeuf in Normandy compares with Leeds in England in 
the manufacture of worsteds. It does a miscellaneous busi- 
ness in both woolens and worsteds. Vienne on the Rhone 
River is the center of shoddy cloth manufacture, and the 
manufacture of blankets is largely confined to the surround- 
ing towns. Mazamet does a remarkable business in the 
production of pulled wools from South American and Cape 
sheep skins. Wool velvets are produced in the Depart- 
ment of Somme and plushes in the Department of Aisne. 



CHAPTER XV 
MOHAIR, ITS NATURE AND USES 

Sources of Mohair. — There are three principal sources 
of mohair in the world : Turkey, South Africa, and the 
United States. According to the most reliable information 
available, there are in Turkey in the region about Angora 
where the breed of Angora goats originated, approximately 
1,200,000 of these goats. In all Africa, but mostly in the 
Cape Province of the South Africjin Union, there are 
about 3,585,000 Angoras, with about 5,000,000 goats of the 
common breeds. 

Unfortunately for the preservation of the pure Angora 
blood, the Turks many years ago began to cross their flocks 
with the common "Kurd" goats, which resulted in so great 
an infusion of inferior blood that today all goat raisers 
agree that there are no pure-blood Angoras left, those 
now used all being more or less contaminated with the com- 
mon blood. To conserve its flocks and to preserve to the 
Turkish people the Angoras in their purest state, the Turk- 
ish government some years ago prohibited the exportation 
of Angoras. 

The American Angora raiser has, therefore, but the one 
source for obtaining new blood to build up the flocks in 
this country — South Africa; but, fortunately, before the 
Turkish embargo was passed, some of the best of the Turk- 
ish goats had been exported to the United States and also 
to South Africa, so that in all probability, due to the more 
intelligent interest taken by the Angora raisers in these 

182 



MOHAIR, ITS NATURE AND USES 183 

countries, it is not likely that much better blood can be 
procured in Angora itself than can be found in either South' 
Africa or the United States. 

Mohair and its uses. — As stated before, in 1910 the 
American mills used almost 5,000,000 pounds of mohair, 
about two-thirds of which was of American raising. 

Comparing the imported hair with the domestic, manu- 
facturers agree that the domestic lacks brightness and lus- 
ter and does not spin so well as the Turkish hair. Owing 
to certain climatic conditions, especially in the Southwest, 
it is necessary to shear the goats twice a year, which of 
course results in a much shorter staple, whereas the foreign 
goats are generally shorn but once a year. Every effort 
is made to grow as long a staple as possible; in Oregon 
and in some parts of California, where the goats are sheared 
but once a year, the production of hair between fifteen 
and twenty inches in length is not unusual in flocks where 
the grade has been kept to the highest possible standard. 
For the United States as a whole, where the fleece is al- 
lowed to grow an entire year, the average length is about 
ten inches. 

The following articles are made from mohair : plushes 
used for railway cars and upholstering furniture, coat lin- 
ings, dress goods, men's summer suits, automobile tops, 
braids, rugs, and carriage robes, imitation furs for women's 
and children's wear, couch and table covers, portieres ; false 
hair from crimped and curved mohair. The skins tanned 
with the hair on are used extensively for carriage robes, 
muffs, and trimmings for coats and capes. 

The market for mohair is unusually dependent upon the 
caprices of fashion ; let there be a change in fashion's edict 
and there may be a great demand for mohair; a remarkable 
falling off is no less likely to occur at any moment. 

Considering the amount of domestic hair now being used 
by the American mills, it is apparent that the future of 



l84 TEXTILES 

Angora goat-raising industry lies in improving rather than 
increasing the output of mohair. The American people 
must also be educated to the eating of "Angora mutton." 
Most mohair experts agree that when proper care and 
attention are given, American mohair equals the best South 
African or Turkish product. 

Quality of the hair. — The manufacturers state that the 
production of domestic hair has improved greatly during 
the last few years, both in staple and in freedom from kemp 
or dead hairs. In using the domestic and imported hair 
the manufacturers usually blend the imported in such a 
proportion as to enable them to use the mixture in most 
of their products. 

As the goat grows older, the fiber of the hair becomes 
straighter and thicker and loses its curly quality as well as 
its luster; hence the best hair comes from the kids, young 
wethers, and young does. 

The highest grade of mohair should hang in curly ring- 
lets from all parts of the animal's body. The mohair manu- 
facturers prefer hair not less than six inches in length, one 
of the most prominent stating that he could use very little 
of the Southwestern hair on account of its being too short. 
Some Texas flocks were investigated where the growers 
had produced fleeces from fifteen to twenty-two inches 
long; such fleeces were sold for special purposes, bringing 
very high prices. 

The majority of the manufacturers purchase a large 
percentage of their hair direct from the growers in person, 
or from selling agencies established by the Angora Goat 
Association in the West. 

The great effort of the Angora raisers of today is to 
develop a goat that will shear a long, lustrous, curly fleece 
of fine character and free from the obnoxious "kemp." 
Kemp is the long, coarse hair which, with very few ex- 
ceptions, is found in some quantity on even the best An- 



MOHAIR, ITS NATURE AND USES 185 

goras. It is believed to be a last reminder of the common 
blood bred into the original herds in Turkey; in the judg- 
ment of some of the best growers it will never be com- 
pletely eradicated. Kemp is objectionable in that it will 
rtot take any of the dyes used in dying mohair; for this 
reason the manufactured goods are defective whenever the 
kemp is used. Kemp can readily be discovered in a fleece 
as it lacks the luster or sheen of the true mohair, being a 
dead, chalky white and coarser than the rest of the fleece. 

The average shearing value of the American Angora is 
not so high as it probably might be, because of the mixture 
of common blood in many of the flocks. The average goat 
of higher class flocks shears a trifle over three and one-half 
pounds, but taking the country over, the average is probably 
somewhat under two and one-half pounds. A high shear- 
ing average is not altogether an evidence of superior mo- 
hair. According to the best authority available the average 
for the Turkish Angora is but two and three-fourths pounds 
a goat, while that for those of South Africa is above three 
and one-half pounds each. 

Handling goats on range. — In general, the goats are 
handled much the same as the sheep, save that the constant 
presence of the herder is not necessary. Many goatherds 
turn the animals out of the pens in the early morning, 
sending a dog with them to keep away wild animals. Dur- 
ing the day the herder rides out to the herd once or twice 
to note the direction in which they are feeding. Usually 
if they are allowed to graze alone, the goats will travel 
too fast and cover too much country, which is injurious to 
the range as well as to the animals. Careful herders re- 
main with their goats and check this tendency to travel. 

The necessary equipment for raising goats is somewhat 
similar to that for sheep raising. It is especially necessary 
that proper sheds should be furnished to shelter the goats 
during wet weather, as they are very susceptible to moisture. 



i86 . TEXTILES 

Contrary to general belief, no domestic animal is more 
fastidious as to its food than the Angora. When fed hay 
or other artificial food, every care must be taken to keep the 
food away from the mud and dirt; Angoras will refuse to 
touch any food which is soiled or trampled into the ground. 
Muddy or foul drinking water will not answer, and fresh 
water must be furnished if these animals are to do well 
either on the range or in feed lots. 

Angoras will always endeavor to find shelter from ap- 
proaching storm and must have sheds under which to creep 
during stormy weather. As long as it is clear and cold, or 
the snow is dry, they are comfortable and remain out; but 
their long, open fleece is soon soaked in the rain, and is 
seriously affected by the moisture on their bodies. 

Angoras require plenty of air and light, and all sheds 
provided must be open as much as is compatible with keep- 
ing out rain or snow. The pens should never become 
muddy, for the long, silky fleece will easily pick up a great 
weight of mud, which not only burdens the animal but 
stains and injures the fleece as well. 

Contrary to the general idea, the raising of Angora goats 
is rather diflicult. The young are more delicate than lambs, 
and their mortality is greater, especially among the well-bred 
animals. Incessant personal care is absolutely necessary in 
raising the kids until they are about two months old. The 
methods of raising the kids are many, especially during their 
early weeks, when it is inadvisable to let them follow the 
doe out upon the ranges. 

The browsing habit of the goats renders them available 
even on land where other domestic animals would not find 
sufficient feed. Goats relish and thrive on all manner of 
browses ; on leaves, shrubs, and small trees, and on moderate 
amounts of weeds and grass. Despite the general opinion, 
goats will not do well on brush alone, although a large part 
of their food is browse. Because of their liking for brows- 



MOHAIR, ITS NATURE AND USES 187 

ing, goats are occasionally introduced into many states solely 
for the purpose of clearing the land of brush and bringing 
it into pasturage. This same browsing habit has caused 
their exclusion from many parts of the national forests 
throughout the West, and from watersheds where it is 
desirable to protect the brushy cover in order to prevent 
erosion and the filling up by silt of the reservoirs for water 
supply. 

The land upon which goats thrive best being generally 
useless for other domestic animals, its actual or rental value 
is generally much below that of pasture land for sheep or 
cattle, although on the various national forests practically 
the same fees are charged for goats as for sheep. The total 
average yearly cost for grazing for one goat is about the 
same as that for one sheep in the same region, or sometimes 
a little less. This statement refers, of course, to range- 
raised goats and not to those raised in small flocks upon 
farms or within small pastures. 

Receipts from raising Angora goats. — The average re- 
ceipts from mohair are approximately $1.02 for each goat. 
Owing to the varying conditions under which the mutton 
is sold it is impossible to compute any averages from that 
source which would be applicable to the entire goat-raising 
region. 



CHAPTER XVI 
RAW SILK PRODUCTION 

THE SILKWORM OR MOTH 

Silk. IS produced from cocoons of an insect usually and 
rather inaccurately called the "silkworm." This popular 
name originates from the fact that the silk-producing moth, 
before reaching maturity, passes through a caterpillar or 
worm stage during which it spins for itself the cocoon 
from which later it emerges as a true moth, closely related 
in nature to the butterfly. The cocoon, formed from an 
unbroken fiber secreted from the caterpillar's body, is gath- 
ered and the fiber unwound, thereby furnishing the silk 
fiber of commerce. 

Varieties of silk moths. — There are between three and 
four hundred varieties of moths that produce silk cocoons, 
many of these varieties being found in America. Only a 
few produce cocoons of the kind and quantity that make it 
profitable to collect them. Most silk comes from a single 
variety known to science as the Bomhyx mori. This silk 
moth, or silkworm as we shall call it, has been raised for 
hundreds and even thousands of years. It is correctly 
called the domesticated silkworm. From just what wild 
variety it originally came is not known. It has probably 
changed greatly during its age-long process of culture. By 
the selection of only the larger ones for breeding purposes, 
this variety has been increased in size, with consequent en- 
largement of the cocoon. It has lost its power of flight. 

188 




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RAW SILK PRODUCTION 189 

The wings of the full-grown moth are practically useless. 
At the caterpillar stage it has lost its sight. The constant 
care that man has given to thousands of generations of 
worms has made it unnecessary for them to see or fly; 
these functions therefore have been lost. All necessary 
movements are provided for by human attendants, who 
carry the worms to the feeding places and supply them with 
food. The Bombyx mori, the domestic silkworm, is white 
or cream-colored, whereas the wild varieties vary widely 
in color. Brown is very common. 

Stages in the life of a silkworm. — The silkworms of all 
varieties pass through four marked stages : first we find 
them as eggs ; second, as caterpillars or worms ; third, as 
chrysalides, inside of the cocoons ; and fourth, as full-grown 
moths. It takes from twenty to thirty days for the eggs to 
hatch. The caterpillar stage lasts about 30 days. The chrys- 
alis stage lasts but a few days, and the moths die as soon 
as they have mated and laid the new generation of eggs. 

The Bombyx mori produces but one new generation each 
year. For this reason it is called univoltine. Some of the 
wild species of silkworms, however, annually produce two, 
three, and even more generations. The common Chinese 
wild silkworms produce as many as seven crops each year 
in the Hongkong district, while a variety in Bengal, India, 
produces eight generations. These varieties are called mul- 
tivoltine. The univoltine is preferred for cultivation to the 
many multivoltine species because it produces the finest and 
strongest silk. In the attempt to use the cocoons from the 
multivoltine species there is a great deal of waste; it is 
utterly impossible to reel the cocoons of some varieties. 

The Egg. — Silkworm eggs are about the size of a turnip- 
seed and it takes from 30,000 to 40,000 to weigh an ounce. 
If all goes well, these will produce about 130 to 140 pounds 
of cocoons, and from these about twelve pounds of raw silk 
may be reeled. Eggs are sometimes sold by one grower to 



190 TEXTILES 

another for so much an ounce. When first laid they are 
yellow, but if fertile they soon turn blue-gray. The univol- 
tine species is hatched in the month of June by the use of 
incubators in which the temperature is kept at about 75 
degrees. In Oriental countries the eggs are sometimes kept 
at the required temperature by having them wrapped in 
folds of cloth around the bodies of the people who are 
caring for the silk-raising establishments. 

The Worms or Caterpillars. — Finally the eggs hatch 
and little, dark-colored worms creep out. This is the cater- 
pillar or larva stage. These little baby caterpillars, es- 
pecially of the domestic species, are almost helpless. Those 
in charge provide mulberry leaves to the under side of 
which the caterpillars attach themselves and get food by 
sucking the juice out of the leaf. In eight days they have 
attained considerable growth and are ready to shed their 
skins for the first time. Three other moltings take place 
before the caterpillar is full grown. Each time,, as the molt- 
ing period approaches, the worms stop eating, rise on their 
hind legs, and remain still for a couple of days. Finally a 
crack starts in the skin above the nose. This enlarges until 
it gives room for the head and later for the body to wriggle 
out. As soon as the skin is shed the caterpillar becomes 
voraciously hungry and avidly attacks the leaves supplied* 
to it. After the first few days of caterpillar life, the worms 
cease sucking and begin to eat the entire soft parts of the 
leaf by cutting out pieces and devouring them. The noise 
made by thousands of these worms in a room, all busily 
feeding, is like that of falling rain. 

Care of the caterpillars. — The worms are kept on shallow 
trays which are placed by the dozen in frames. Laborers — 
men, women, and children — busily pick leaves from the 
trees, bring them in fresh to the worms, change the worms 
from tray to tray, clean the old trays and prepare them for 
another group of worms. Great care is necessary in so 



RAW SILK PRODUCTION 191 

handling the worms that they may not be hurt. Though 
the worms are blind, they have none the less a very acute 
hearing; wherefore all noises must be prevented so far as 
is possible. A sharp noise causes the worm to stop feeding 
and to give out — really to waste — a part of that liquid in 
its body which will later make silk fiber. Much silk is lost 
in this way, even when the utmost care is exercised. Such 
unavoidable noises as thunderstorms cause very marked 
losses. As a rule the laborers walk barefooted or in their 
stocking feet about the room in which the silkworms are 
kept. 

The Cocoon. — After the caterpillar has shed its skin 
four times it is ready to pass into the next stage, that of the 
cocoon or chrysalis. One ounce of eggs has become by this 
time, if good fortune has attended the work, 20,000 full- 
grown worms. These worms have consumed in the period 
of thirty days over half a ton of green leaves. When ready 
to spin their cocoons, the worms are transferred to trays 
constructed with brushy tufts in which they like to make 
their cocoons. 

The cocoon is constructed in most interesting fashion. 
There are two long bags inside the worm's body, one along 
each side. These bags or sacs contain a sticky or viscous 
liquid. This is slowly exuded through the worm's under lip, 
and immediately upon coming into the air it hardens into a 
thin little stream of fiber; this fiber is the silk. Usually 
both bags exude the liquid at the same time ; hence the fiber 
that is formed at the lower lip of the worm is generally 
double, as can be seen by laying almost any silk fiber under 
a strong magnifying glass or a microscope. 

The worm attaches itself to a tuft on the tray provided 
for it. The wild worm selects some bush, weed, tuft, or 
grass, where it begins to give off the silk liquid, and, as it 
does so, swings its head from one side to the other, deposit- 
ing the silk fiber in the form of figure eights. At first the 



192 TEXTILES 

directions are somewhat irregular, but later the method of 
laying the fiber becomes almost uniform. Soon the worm 
is wholly inclosed by his tent of silk fiber, but he continues 
spinning on the inside until his silk secretions^are used up, 
and the cocoon is completed. 

The Chrysalis. — The caterpillar then changes from a 
worm to a chrysalis, a thing that looks partly like a worm 
and partly like an insect. In this condition it sleeps for 
about eighteen to twenty days. Then, if left undisturbed, 
it is transformed into a moth ; it becomes fully awake, and 
strives to emerge from the cocoon. Slowly it pushes itself 
forward against the wall of the cocoon, breaking some of 
the obstructing fiber and dissolving parts of it by a strong, 
alkaline liquid which it gives out of its mouth. 

The Moth. — After it has come out of the cocoon the 
moth remains quiet until its wings are dry, and then pro- 
ceeds to the mating which lasts for several hours. The 
female moth now lays her eggs in two deposits, a few hours 
apart. Each moth produces from three hundred to five 
hundred eggs. The male is smaller than the female, but' 
more active. Both are covered with woolly hair and, if of 
the Bomhyx mori variety, are creamy white in color. Nei- 
ther male nor female eats anything betwen the time when 
it begins to spin and its death. 

Completing the Cycle of Life. — The eggs are laid 
over an even surface, sometimes with a gummy liquid 
that sticks the eggs to the object upon which they are laid. 
Shortly after the mating and the laying of the eggs, the 
moth dies. Its cycle of life is completed. 



HOW THE SILK FIBER IS OBTAINED 

As already indicated the cocoons are the source of the 
silk fiber. The silkworm deposits upwards of 4,000 yards 



RAW SILK PRODUCTION 193 

of the tiny fiber in making its cocoon. But when the moth 
leaves the cocoon by breaking its way out, it cuts this fiber 
off in many places, thus largely decreasing its value; hence 
silk producers kill the chrysalis in the cocoon to prevent its 
coming through. The usual method is that of immersing 
the cocoons in steam for a few minutes. Sometimes the 
chrysalides are killed by baking the cocoons in a hot oven; 
recently a method of freezing them to death has been used 
to a limited extent. Another method, that of placing the 
cocoons in boiling water, serves a double purpose. Not only 
does it kill the chrysalides, but it also softens the "gum" 
that sticks the threads together, so that they can be un- 
reeled from the cocoon. But in this case the reeling must 
begin at once, while if the chrysalides are killed by steam, 
heat, or frost, the cocoons may be kept in their original form 
for years. 

The cocoons of the best domesticated varieties of silk- 
worms are either white or cream-colored. The wild co- 
coons may have almost any color, according to the feed 
upon which the caterpillar lives. It has been shown that' 
red coloring matter put into mulberry leaves fed to the 
worms tends to tint the cocoon red, and that other colors 
put into their food produce corresponding effects in the 
cocoons. 

Reeling. — The fiber is removed from the whole cocoons 
by a process of unreeling. The method is as simple as it 
is laborious. After the fiber in the cocoon is loosened by 
soaking in boiling water, the cocoons are taken out, and the 
floss, or loose, fluffy, silky fiber on the outside, is cleaned 
off to be used in the production of carded silk yarns. Next 
the cocoons are put into a basin containing water kept con- 
stantly at lukewarm temperature. Laborers use a whisk 
broom or brush and push the cocoons up and down in the 
water until some loose end of fiber becomes attached to 
the broom. This fiber, the loose end of a cocoon, is drawn 



194 TEXTILES 

gently; the cocoon tumbles around in the water and grad- 
ually it unreels itself. A single fiber is very small, and for 
reeling purposes usually three or four are combined. These 
are passed through a smooth ring as one fiber and then 
onto a reel frame which is usually run by foot power, but 
sometimes by mechanical power in modern reeling plants, 
or by filatures as they are called. By means of the reel 
frames the raw silk is reeled into skeins or hanks. 

Care necessary in reeling. — The threads as they come 
from the cocoons are not of even thickness because of the 
fact that the various glands in the spinning worm do not 
operate alike at all times. Most of the time both glands 
or silk sacs secrete together, but occasionally only one pro- 
duces ; hence unevenness results. As a rule the thread is 
finer when the worm first begins to spin than it is during 
the middle of the process ; the fiber tapers again at the end 
of the spinning. Since it is very necessary to get an even 
silk thread in the skein that is being formed, the operator in 
charge must be constantly on the watch. When the thread 
grows thin, another is added ; when it grows thick a thread 
or two is taken out. Each operator runs two reels. Keep- 
ing both reels going and carefully watching the threads to 
note changes in size, adding to or taking away to give uni- 
form size, preventing breakage, and keeping a new supply 
of cocoons properly soaked in the basin — all these are duties 
that call for extreme deftness of fingers, accuracy of eye, 
and quickness of mind. 

Product per cocoon. — The average cocoon reels off about 
three hundred yards in a single thread. It will be recalled 
that there may be as many as 4,000 yards in a cocoon, but 
considerable is brushed off in the outer floss, and a portion 
near the inside will not reel well ; hence only the middle of 
the fiber can be saved in the form of one long thread. The 
very best cocoons reel off as high as four hundred yards. 

Cocoon wastes. — The portions that are not reeled are 




Reel in operation. 




Reeled and waste silk. 



RAW SILK PRODUCTION 195 

used in making coarser yarns by carding, combing, and 
spinning as with the other textiles. The longer fibers are 
often carded and combed as in making worsteds. This sort 
of silk is known as Horette silk. Shorter fibers which may 
only be carded and then spun are called bourette silk. The 
general names for both varieties are silk waste, floss, 
schappe, or echappe. Floss is probably the best name, since 
schappe is used frequently for manufactured goods made 
out of floss or waste. But it should be remembered that 
floss is also the name given to the outside loose fibers sur- 
rounding the cocoon. 

Breeding silk moths. — The cocoons are not all alike in 
size, shape, color, and other qualities. For example, the 
cocoons containing female chrysalides are larger than those 
containing males. The color varies considerably. Not all 
can be used for making silk fiber ; some must be left for 
breeding purposes. The very largest, best-looking, smooth- 
est, and healthiest are set aside and the moths allowed to 
come out and breed. This method makes sure that the 
stock of silkworms will be kept up to a high producing 
standard. 

Sorting Cocoons. — The very best cocoons are often set 
aside and reeled by themselves for the finest and strongest 
silk threads. For example, silk warp is usually made from 
fiber drawn from the better grades of cocoons. The finest 
sewing silk comes from the most perfect cocoons. The 
poorest cocoons, the deformed, discolored, or otherwise de- 
fective ones, are often not reeled at all but are simply turned 
at once into silk floss. 

Silk wastes. — Various names are given to the grades and 
kinds of waste or floss silk. Very irregular masses of torn 
silk fibers are called watt silk. The inner portions of the 
cocoon next to the chrysalis are called wadding, neri, or 
ricotti, and various other names. Imperfect cocoons which 
are not reeled are called cocoons or piques. The wastes 



196 TEXTILES 

accumulated in reeling, due to breakage, loose ends, and so 
on, are called frissonets. 

Use of Silk Waste. — Until about 1857, silk waste was 
entirely useless, but it is now the material of an important 
industry. It is cleared of gum by boiling, and then run 
through machines that break up, card, comb, and draw the 
fibers into shape for spinning. 

Silkworm diseases. — The silkworm is subject to a number 
of severe diseases, and also to depredations from mice, 
weevils, and ants. There are times when whole chambers 
where the silkworms are kept become infected with con- 
tagious diseases that kill off the worms before they can 
spin. Wild worms are by no means so liable to disease. The 
susceptibility to disease is a direct result of domestication. 
Under the most favorable circumstances, fully one-fourth 
of the eggs fail to produce worms that grow to maturity. 
Some are killed by accident, but the majority by disease. 

The principal diseases of the silkworm are : pebrine, 
grasserie, flacherie (or flaccidity), gattine (or macilonza), 
and muscardine (or calcino). 

Pebrine is a bacterial disease, both hereditary and con- 
tagious, which has wrought tremendous damage in the silk 
industry in Europe, especially in France. At one time, 
about 1865, the French cocoon production had been almost 
destroyed. No cure for the disease has ever been dis- 
covered. The only means of getting rid of it is to allow 
the affected worms and moths to die out, carefully to dis- 
infect the premises, and then to start in with a fresh supply 
of healthy eggs. 

Science in Treating Silkworm Diseases. — Pasteur, a 
noted French scientist, showed how the disease might be 
prevented. Every moth, after laying its eggs, is killed and 
its interior examined carefully under a microscope, the only 
means of discovering the germs. If the germs are found 
in the moth's body, the eggs are destroyed, since they also 



RAW SILK PRODUCTION 197 

are sure to contain some germs carried from the mother 
moth's body. When no signs of germs are found in the 
moth, the eggs are considered safe to grow. After this 
method came into use, French silk growing leaped forward 
again. Experiment stations for the examination of eggs 
were established by the government in numerous places — 
an example followed by Italy and other countries. Lately 
the French growers have become careless again, and silk 
production is consequently rapidly falling off. Now, Italy 
and Austria are doing the most to stamp out the disease, 
and these two countries are producing the finest raw silks. 
Particularly in Tyrol, a province in Austria, is this scientific 
method of propagating disease-free eggs in most successful 
use. No silk-growing peasant in either Italy or Tyrol would 
today think of hatching out silkworm eggs that were not* 
certified by some government experiment station as free 
from disease. Leading growers in France are hoping to 
revive the careful inspection that Pasteur planned for 
them. 

Flacherie is now the most dreaded disease among Eu- 
ropean silkworm growers. It attacks and speedily kills the 
worms shortly before they are full-grown. Often thousands 
of worms in one room die in a single day. It is really a 
form of indigestion due to various causes such as over- 
eating, poor leaves, bad air in the room, excessive heat, dusf 
on the leaves, or keeping worms too thick on the trays. 
Like pebrine, flacherie is contagious and hereditary. It can, 
however, be prevented by carefully avoiding the causes men- 
tioned, and by disinfecting the rooms where cases have 
occurred. Eggs that have been exposed to the disease are 
washed in a disinfecting solution before being hatched. 

The worms may easily be overfed at certain stages, es- 
pecially on young, tender leaves when the worms are almost 
full-grown. Sometimes, this overfeeding causes a disease 
that is called grasserie. It is not contagious, but does kill 



198 TEXTILES 

a number of worms every year, especially in warm coun- 
tries. 

Gattine causes the worms to become torpid. This is a 
germ disease, and can be eradicated by changing the trays 
and disinfecting the old ones. The growers sometimes 
shake the worms vigorously and thus jar them out of their 
torpor. 

Muscardine is a mold disease which kills worms very 
rapidly whenever it gets a start. It is more contagious 
than any other silkworm disease. The methods of getting 
rid of it are disinfection, letting in pure air and light into 
the trays, burning sulphur in the room, and so on. 

The possibility of disease, together with the constant need 
of care, keeps the silk growers constantly on the watch over 
their worms. The task is tremendous, and the chances for 
loss are always great. 

WILD SILKS 

The wild silks are gathered principally in Japan, China, 
and India. There are, of course, several varieties of wild 
silk cocoons, each with qualities somewhat different from 
the rest. The principal variety of Japan is the Yamai-mai, 
and the chief varieties of India are the tusser, or tussah, 
and the ailanthus. As already indicated, most of these silks 
are much darker in color than the domesticated silk, the 
Bomhyx mori, probably because of the difference in feed. 
Wild silkworms do not always have mulberry leaves to eat. 
Great numbers feed on oak leaves and in some cases on 
other plants. 

Quality of wild silk. — In a general way it may be said 
that wild silks are in most respects of poorer quality than 
domesticated silk. They are harder to bleach, and do not 
take dyes so well. They are generally very uneven in tex- 
ture, but when made up into fabrics are often more durable 



RAW SILK PRODUCTION 199 

than common silks. Wild silks are used principally in the 
manufacture of pile fabrics such as velvet, plush, and imita- 
tion sealskin, and in heavy or rough cloths such as pongees 
and shantungs. While the silkworms of the wild varieties 
take care of themselves, and therefore do not require the 
constant labor that must -be given to domesticated silk, the 
expense of gathering is nevertheless high. The wild co- 
coons must be hunted, trees must be climbed to gather them, 
and much time may be consumed in collecting comparatively 
few. On the whole, however, because of the poorer quali- 
ties, wild silks are worth considerably less than "tame" silks. 



NATURE OF SILK FIBER 

The perfect raw silk fiber is a very fine filament with 
two parts that can readily be seen under a microscope. This 
filament is composed of a substance called -fibroin, and the 
outside is covered with a waxy substance called sericin. 
Silk fiber in its raw state is for its size the strongest textile 
fiber in existence. It is said that it is as strong as an iron 
wir% of the same size would be. Notwithstanding that in 
the processes of manufacture much of this strength is lost, 
unless very badly treated, the fiber remains remarkably 
strong. It is also very elastic and durable. It has a high 
natural luster which is improved upon in some manufactur- 
ing processes. The fabrics into which it is made are beau- 
tiful even in the natural silk colors. 

Absorptive power of silk. — Silk fiber readily absorbs 
water; wherefore, in commerce, rules are necessary re- 
garding the amount of water allowable in the fiber offered' 
for sale. The usual amount allowed by weight is about 
eleven per cent. It can easily be understood that when raw 
silk fiber sells for more than three dollars a pound, a large 
fraction of the total weight, such as one-third, one- fourth, 



200 TEXTILES 

one-fifth, or even one-tenth of water, would make a big 
difference in the price. Silk markets, therefore, are always 
equipped with the necessary apparatus for telling just what 
part of the weight of the silk is water. For example, the 
Silk Association of America has a large laboratory in New 
York in which the principal work is the determination of 
the proportion of moisture in raw silks brought from the 
market. The process of getting the silk into the proper 
standard condition as regards moisture is called "silk con- 
ditioning." 

Because of its absorptive qualities, silk takes dyes very 
well, in fact better than any other textile; hence silks may 
be given delicate shades and tints of color that would be 
quite impossible in cotton or linen. It may also, as we shall 
see, absorb weighting materials that are introduced by way 
of adulteration. Pure dye silk should not contain more than 
ten per cent of its weight in dyeing or weighting materials. 
Ordinary silks contain much more weighting than this. 



HUMAN LABOR IN SILK PRODUCTION 

After the raw silk has been reeled into skeins or hanks, 
the most laborious parts of silk production are completed; 
that is, most of the work done on the fiber thereafter is 
done by machine processes instead of by hand. The amount 
of hand labor that it takes to produce raw silk is almost 
incredible, and the amount of labor taken after the machine 
processes begin is no less than for other textiles. It has 
been said that it takes more human labor to produce a lady's 
silk dress, from the mulberry leaves into the finished prod- 
uct ready for wear, than it takes to produce and build a 
locomotive out of the raw ores in the ground. More hours 
are expended, and more people have something to do with 
the work. 



RAW SILK PRODUCTION 201 

Cost of production. — If the labor employed in the pro- 
duction of silk were paid as high wages as are commonly 
paid in the iron and steel industry the silk dress would cost 
almost as much as a locomotive. As it is, raw silk produc- 
tion is carried on chiefly in countries where wages are very 
low. At the present prices of silk, the most efficient work- 
men doing their very best could not earn more than fifteen 
cents per day at this kind of work. The usual wages in the 
silk-producing countries are lower than this. 

Where the raw silk is produced. — It is not surprising 
then that 40 per cent of the world's raw silk is produced 
by the Empire of China, 20 per cent by Japan, 20 per cent 
by Italy, 10 per cent by Persia, Asiatic Turkey, India, and 
Arabia, and the remaining 10 per cent by France, Austria, 
Spain, or Portugal. Italy produces some of the finest silk 
in the world; India and China, some of the coarsest and 
poorest. 

Attempts to raise silk in the United States. — Several 
attempts have been made to raise silk in this country, and 
practically every experiment has shown that a very fine 
quality of fiber could be produced; but the great obstacle 
is the cost of labor to care for the worms, pick the leaves, 
attend to the mating of the moths, make the necessary 
examinations for disease, and reel the raw silk. No me- 
chanical devices have ever been invented to do away with 
the great amount of human hand labor. Not while clever 
people, men, women, and children, in China, Japan, and 
other countries are willing to work for less than ten cents 
a day as they now do, can raw silk production become profit- 
able in this country. 

Methods of production in Japan. — Silk is often handled 
as an auxiliary industry by Japanese and Chinese farmers. 
The women and children are occupied with the care of the 
silkworms while the adult men are employed in the gar- 
dens and fields. Being a home industry of this nature, it 



202 TEXTILES 

is often u-ndertaken even when there is small prospect for 
payment for time expended. The time of the women and 
children is not considered worth much in any case. One 
person cares for about 10,000 to 12,000 worms. The aver- 
age production per family among the families that do 
raise silk is about five bushels of cocoons per year. The 
return for these cocoons generally pays for the labor ex- 
pended in their production at about the rate of ten cents 
a day. 

Improvements in reeling silk. — Reeling has been greatly 
improved in modern filatures by the introduction of power 
for running the reels and by using gas to keep the basins 
heated at a proper and constant temperature, but this change 
has not eliminated the necessity for cheap labor. No fila- 
ture of any consequence is to be found in any country or 
city except where labor is abundant and very cheap. Silk' 
reeled by hand or foot power is called ''re-reel silk," while 
that reeled by power machinery is called "filature silk." 



MARKETING SILK 

The products of silk production are marketed in various 
forms. For example, in certain communities in Italy, there 
is a large business of selling certified silkworm eggs. These 
are usually sold at a certain price an ounce. Many silk 
growers sell the cocoons t^t they produce. The usual 
method of preparing them for ma^et is to stifie the chrys- 
alides by steam, by heating in ovens, or by freezing and 
then drying them thoroughly. When dry, they are sorted 
according to size, color, and quality, and are sold by weight. 
As a rule, small silkworm growers everywhere dispose of 
their product in this manner and at this stage. Finally, 
raw silk is marketed after it is reeled, some of it as reeled 
silk, and the parts that will not reel as silk waste. In the 



RAW SILK PRODUCTION 203 

Orient, silk is reeled into skeins of varying sizes, which 
are then packed into square blocks, called books, containing 
from five to ten pounds. The books are packed in bales, 
each weighing from 100 to 200 pounds or more. In 1912 
the average price for a pound of reeled silk was between 
three and four dollars. From this it can be seen that a bale 
is a pretty valuable piece of goods. 

Importations into this country. — Steamers coming from 
China and Japan to the western United States handle the 
silk as carefully as if it were gold. It is unloaded, usually 
at Seattle or San Francisco, and then taken east in baggage 
coaches directly to New York, the great American raw silk 
market. Often an entire train is rnade up of baggage 
coaches loaded with raw silk, and these "silk specials," as 
they are called, are given the right of way from coast to 
coast. Passenger trains, freight trains, and all must find 
the side tracks when the "silk special" passes through ; and 
well they may, for the silk in each coach may avera,ge more 
than $125,000 in value, and the value of the entire train- 
load of silk may be $2,000,000. 

Markets for waste silk. — Hartford, Connecticut, is the 
principal port of entry for the large quantities of silk waste 
and floss imported into this country. Boston comes second. 
Both are near the great New England silk mills (New Lon- 
don, Winsted, South Manchester, in Connecticut, and 
Pittsfield, Northampton, Holyoke, and Florence in Massa- 
chusetts) where large quantities of spun silk are produced. 
The center of reeled silk manufacture is in Paterson, New 
Jersey, and in the hard coal region of Pennsylvania. The 
state of New York also has a large number of establishments 
using reeled silk in some stage of manufacture. 



CHAPTER XVII 
SILK MANUFACTURING 

United States first in silk manufacturing. — With the 
possible exception of China, for which no complete statistics 
are available, the United States is now the largest silk- 
manufacturing country in the world. This position has 
been taken from and maintained against France since 1905. 

Rapid growth of industry. — The development of the silk- 
manufacturing industry of the United States during the 
last few years is one of the most interesting features of the 
country's progress. The phenomenal growth is shown by 
the fact that, since the Civil War, the increase in the gross 
value of such products is the difference between slightly less 
than $4,000,000 and nearly $197,000,000. The increase has 
thus been by leaps and bounds ; trebling between i860 and 
1880; more than doubling during the next two decades; and 
increasing 83 per cent between 1899 and 1909. The United 
States now consumes more than one-third of the total 
amount of raw reeled silk produced in the world. More 
than 20,000,000 pounds of raw silk are imported each 
year. 

Where the raw silk comes from. — Over half of it comes 
from Japan; a quarter comes from China; Italy supplies 
almost as much as China ; and the remaining small amounts 
come from France, India, and other silk-producing coun- 
tries. 

Quality of the raw silks. — ^The finest raw silk to be found 
in any large quantity is that produced in Piedmont, Italy. 

204 



SILK MANUFACTURING 205 

Chinese silk is ordinarily the poorest, not because of in- 
feriority in silkworms, but rather because of the Chinese 
methods of handling it. Now and then some of the finest 
silk in the world comes from China, but too often great 
quantities of very poor fiber, wild silk, and weighted silk 
impair the Chinese product. Because no standards have 
been insisted upon by the government, the Chinese silk 
production and trade have degenerated. Japanese silk, 
however, is rapidly gaining in quality and reputation. The 
government has carefully promoted the industry, insisting 
on honesty and on scientific care in handling the fiber. 

Silk consumption in the United States. — The Americans 
wear more silk than any other people. It is safe to say that 
the value of our per capita consumption of silk for men, 
women, and children is close to $2.50 per year. When times 
are good there is a tremendous increase in the sale of silks 
in this country, but in hard times, as in 1893, 1897, and 
1907, silk sales fall off, the manufacturers' demands are 
checked, and the silk producers in Japan, China, and Italy 
are severely hit by our financial difficulties. 

Fashion changes frequently, but there is no indication 
that silk will ever go out of style. Style ranges from one 
class of weaves to another, and from one kind of finish to 
another, but the "queenly fabric" continues to be the central 
thing in dress goods fashion. 

Uses of the various kinds of silk. — The methods of man- 
ufacturing silk depend upon the uses to which the finished 
goods are to be put, but, generally speaking, reeled silk is 
used in the manufacture of fine cloth, ribbons, and fine 
sewing thread, while waste silk is used in making knit 
goods, hosiery, coarse cloth, braids and bindings, embroidery 
silk, crochet silk, and so on. 

Kinds of silk yarn. — ^Various cloths require threads of 
different sizes. The warp and the weft usually vary con- 
siderably in all textiles. In making the finest silk webs, 



2o6 TEXTILES 

threads known as "singles" are required. Singles are simply 
the silk threads as they are produced at the reeling. Some- 
times singles are used as weft, and occasionally even as 
warp in the very thinnest fabrics. 

Organzine. — In silk goods made from reeled silk the 
warp is called organzine and the weft is called tram. Or- 
ganzine is prepared by twisting a single and then combining 
with other twisted singles, the number depending upon the 
size of thread wanted. The several threads are then twisted 
into one by twisting in the direction opposite to that given 
the singles. For example, if the singles are twisted by a 
turn toward the right, the combined singles are given a left- 
hand twist. The result is a hard-finished, smooth, strong 
thread that is comparatively small in diameter. The com- 
pleted thread ready for the loom usually has from ten to 
fourteen turns to the inch. 

Tram. — Tram is produced by combining singles in suffi- 
cient number — two, three, or more threads that have not al- 
ready been twisted — and by giving these threads a rather 
loose twist. The thread or yarn resulting helps to give body 
to the cloth and shows the silk characteristics such as sheen 
and smoothness splendidly, but is not, of course, as strong 
a thread as the organzine. It usually has from three to six 
turns to the inch, depending upon the kind of fabric for 
which it is made. 

Crepe yarn. — If the cloth to be produced is a crepe, the 
threads need a special treatment, especially the tram. The 
singles are put together as in making the regular tram, but 
instead of being twisted loosely, the thread is twisted very 
hard. Instead of two or three turns an inch as in tram, 
the yarn is twisted forty to eighty turns an inch. When 
woven into the fabric the elasticity of such threads causes 
them to "kick up" or crinkle. It is this that creates the 
crepe effect in the cloth. Crepe yarn is used in making 
crepe de chine, crepe charmeuse, crepe meteor, crepe faille, 



SILK MANUFACTURING 207 

crepe organzine in satin charmeuse, and the chiffons, as 
well as other fabrics. Crepe yarn is variously combined 
with regular yarns and in the different weaves, each varia- 
tion producing a new effect in the appearance and feeling 
of the goods. 

Special doublings. — In making gauze and certain fabrics 
with a watered appearance the yarn is prepared by twisting 
a coarse and a fine thread together. When this uneven 
combination is woven into cloth it gives a peculiar watered 
effect. This sort of yarn -is called by the French soie 
ondee. 

Other kinds of silk threads. — When we turn to the vari- 
ous kinds of silk threads and yarns which are not intended 
for use in cloth making, we meet with a very great variety. 
Among others there are machine twist, sewing silk, button- 
hole twist, crochet silk, lace silk, filo silk, Persian floss, Ro- 
man floss, rope silk, etching silk, embroidery silk, dental 
floss, surgeon's silk, purse twist, knitting silk, and darning 
silk. In fact there is a different silk thread for practically 
every textile use. Silk is so useful that it may serve wher- 
ever any other textile can be used and in a number of other 
ways besides. 

Sewing silk. — The manufacture of machine twist and 
sewing thread is a branch of especially great importance in 
this country. No other country makes any better; hence a 
considerable amount is every year exported to other coun- 
tries. Nearly the entire process from raw reeled silk is 
conducted by machinery which is largely automatic. Sew- 
ing thread was the first silk product manufactured in this 
country and is the only one that has become important in 
America without the help of a protective tariff. 

Machine twist. — In making machine twist or sewing silk, 
the reeled silk* fibers are combined as in making tram, but 
they are twisted much harder than ordinary tram. Next, 
two of these twisted threads are combined and twisted in 



2o8 TEXTILES 

the direction opposite to that used in twisting the strands. 
The product is sewing silk. In making machine twist three 
strands are used instead of two and the whole three hard 
twisted. Sewing silk is commonly called two-ply, and ma- 
chine twist three-ply thread. After the twisting, the thread 
is passed through stretching machines that smooth and 
harden the fibers, giving the thread uniformity and even- 
ness throughout. The thread is next washed, dyed, steam 
finished, softened, and then spooled, skeined, balled, or put 
up in whatever form the trade demands. There is about 
twice as much machine twist used as sewing thread. Prac- 
tically all of it is taken by manufacturers of clothing, shoes, 
cloaks, gloves, and dresses. Manufacturers also use about 
half of the sewing silk produced, the other half finding its 
way into the homes of consumers through the channels of 
the dry goods trade. A fair assortment of sewing silk now 
includes not only the regular sizes but also upwards of two 
hundred colors or shades and tints. 

Embroidery silk. — Embroidery silk is made by winding 
the raw silk, using a large number of single threads, giving 
them a slack twist, and then doubling and twisting in the 
reverse direction with a slack twist. 

The other forms of threads and yarns are all prepared on 
the same principle, varying only in the number of single 
threads, the amount and direction of twist, the number of 
strands used, and so on. 

Spun silk yarns. — Silk waste or floss is used in making 
spun silk yarns that are in turn used in the manufacture 
of lining silk, knit goods, hosiery, mufilers, cheap silk neck- 
ties, coarser numbers and qualities of sewing thread, pile 
fabrics, elastic webbing, dress goods of certain kinds, and 
in union goods such as mixtures with wool for fancy effects. 
Spun silk is also used in the manufacture of laces and em- 
broideries. It can be used with very fine effects, but is less 
fine and strong than reeled silk. 



SILK MANUFACTURING 209 

Process of silk manufacture. — Silk throwing. — The first 
process of manufacture through which raw reeled silk must 
pass corresponds in some ways to the carding, combing, and 
spinning in cotton and wool. In silk manufacturing it is 
called throwing. When the silk arrives at the throwing 
mills it is usually in the form of skeins just as it came from 
the filatures in Japan, China, or Italy. Throwing naturally 
does not include the common processes of carding and 
combing, for the reason that the reeled silk is already in the 
form of thread. The only difficulty with it is that it is alto- 
gether too fine and delicate for use. Throwing is essentially 
a process of cleaning, doubling, and twisting the single 
fibers as they come from the filatures. To do this requires 
about a dozen processes, most of which used to require dif- 
ferent machines, although modern machines often perform 
two or three processes at the same time. 

Opening bales, assorting skeins, and scouring. — The firsf 
process includes opening the bales containing the skeins, 
assorting according to sizes, colors, and qualities of fiber, 
and laying up the skeins in piles of about five pounds each. 
Each of these piles is weighed carefully, placed in cotton 
canvas bags, and then taken to the soaking room. Here the 
bags containing the raw silk are placed in tanks of warm 
water in which considerable soap has been dissolved. The 
temperature is usually regulated at about 90° to 100°, and 
the silk is allowed to remain here for ten or twelve hours. 
This soaking softens the natural gum of the silk and makes 
it possible to unreel the silk from the skein with little diffi- 
culty or breakage. 

Drying. — When the soaking has been concluded, the bags 
of silk are removed and the silk is placed in a drying ma- 
chine which extracts the moisture by whirling the goods in 
a rapidly revolving, circular, sieve-like can. The centrifugal 
force of the rapid revolutions throws most of the moisture 
out of the skeins. Another drying method in common use, 



2IO TEXTILES 

but one taking longer time, is simply to hang the skeins on 
poles in a steam-heated chamber. 

Softening. — When the skeins are fairly dried by either 
process, they are twisted, rolled, and rubbed either by hand 
or by machinery so as to soften any stiff or hard spots left 
after the soaking. When this is completed, the silk is ready 
to be wound on spools, or bobbins as they are called. 

Silk throwing or winding. — Each skein is then carefully 
placed on a reel and made ready for unreeling. The tiny 
silk fiber is unrolled from the skein gently, yet at a high rate 
of speed. The winding apparatus here, as in nearly all 
other mechanisms used in textile industries, is fitted with 
apparatus that automatically stops the machine if anything 
goes wrong. Hence if the silk fiber coming off the reel 
should break, the machine would stop. This makes it pos- 
sible for an operator in a silk winding room to take care 
of a great number of reels and bobbins. All that needs to 
be done is to replace empty reels with new skeins, to take 
away the full bobbins, and to attend to the difficulties caus- 
ing breakage or stoppage of the machines. , 

Spinning or twisting. — The full bobbins are now taken 
to other machines that twist and combine the silk fibers into 
silk threads of various sizes. In making organzine, the 
single fiber is given a twist of several turns an inch before 
it is combined with others. The machine that combines the 
fibers is called the doubling frame, and the machine that 
twists the thread is called the twister. In some of the latest 
models of throwing machinery, the doubling and twisting 
is done on the same machine. These machines are so made 
that the number of turns to be given to the thread per inch 
can be exactly regulated. After the machine is once set 
and started, all that the operator needs to do is to replace 
empty bobbins with full ones from time to time and take 
away the twisted yarn bobbins when full. The doubling 
and twisting machinery is also equipped with automatic 



SILK MANUFACTURING 211 

stop motions. If a bobbin runs out, or if a thread breaks, 
that part of the machine stops at once until the operator has 
attended to the difficulty. One operator in a modern plant 
can watch a great number of spinning threads. 

How the different yarns are made up. — It will be recalled 
that organzine is made up of several twisted singles, twisted 
hard in the direction opposite to the twist given the singles. 
Tram is composed of two or more singles twisted only a 
little. Sewing thread and machine twist is made by com- 
bining two or three tram twisted threads or strands into 
one hard twisted thread. Sewing thread is composed of two 
such strands, while machine twist is composed of three. 
An average size machine-twist thread contains about thirty 
singles ; as each single for this purpose was originally made 
up of about twelve cocoon threads, the completed thread* 
would contain about 360 cocoon threads. 

Stretching. — After the twisting, the silk threads are run 
through another machine called a stretcher. In this ma- 
chine the thread is first passed through a bath of soap and 
water and then drawn over rollers which stretch the thread 
at every point where it is larger in diameter than it should 
be. The process equalizes the diameter of the thread so 
that it becomes uniform throughout. Such inequalities re- 
sult from uneven tension in the various threads in the 
doubling or twisting machines. After the stretching, the 
silk is reeled into skeins about fifty inches in length, con- 
taining, according to the size of the thread, from 500 to 
2,500 yards. 

Dyeing. — These skeins are then taken to the dye house if 
the silk is to be dyed. The first step in dyeing is the "boil- 
ing off" or scouring process. This removes the gum that is 
found in all natural silk. The skeins are immersed in boil- 
ing hot soapsuds and washed thoroughly. This process 
usually takes about four hours, and leaves the silk of a 
pearly white color and very glossy. Any discolorations 



212 TEXTILES 

that remain are bleached out by means of sulphur fumes. 
Silk, as it comes from the scouring, is ready for any dye tint 
or shade. The number of colors that can be applied is very 
great. But the silk, while it gains in its adaptability to dye- 
ing and also in its high gloss, loses about one- fourth of its 
weight and not a little strength. If the scouring and bleach- 
ing are not well and carefully done, the reduction in 
strength may be serious indeed. 

Not all silks are scoured. Those to be used in making 
gauzes, crepes, flour bolting cloths, souples, and others are 
left in the natural gum. Other silks that are to be dyed 
with dark colors are only half scoured. After the scouring 
is completed, the silk threads or yarns are washed in cold 
water, reeled into skeins, dried, and then sent to the dye 
rooms. The process of dyeing is in general the same as 
for other textiles and will be considered in a later chapter. 
After dyeing, the skeins are again dried, run through an- 
other equalizing machine similar to the stretcher, and then 
rewound into the form in which they are wanted by con- 
sumers and the trade, such as spools, bobbins, skeins, etc. 
This completes the process of silk throwing. The silk is 
now ready for the weaver, the knitter, the lace maker, or 
the embroidery maker. 

Use of machines in silk throwing. — Silk throwing is, as 
we have seen, highly mechanical. American machines are 
almost entirely automatic. The tending they require is very 
simple. No other country produces thrown silk any cheaper 
than this country, and American machines are fast dis- 
placing other types in other countries. The laborer in a 
silk-throwing mill (except for an occasional expert over- 
seer or superintendent) needs little skill, and draws a small 
wage. Throwing mills are usually built in communities 
where cheap labor is abundantly available, especially that 
of women and children. 

Localisation of silk-throwing mills. — A typical section of 



SILK MANUFACTURING 213 

this kind is in the mining and heavy iron- and steel-manu- 
facturing regions of Pennsylvania. Here large numbers 
of men are employed in the mines and in the steel mills, 
whereas the women of the workmen's families, especially 
the younger and unmarried members, have little opportunity 
to earn any money in a mining or manufacturing town of 
this class. The coming of the silk- throwing mills opens the 
doors of industrial opportunity to these classes. In such 
centers as Scranton, Wilkesbarre, Carbondale, Honesdale, 
Pottsville, Bethlehem, York, Altoona, Harrisburg, Lock 
Haven, Marietta, Phoenixville, Sunbury, and Williamsport, 
silk-throwing mills have thrived. Suitable labor has been 
abundant, fuel has been cheap, transportation from and to 
the great New York silk market has not been high, and the 
towns themselves have welcomed the mills with open arms, 
supplying them with suitable sites, low taxation, and in some 
cases even with bonuses sufficient to build the plants. From 
beginnings in silk throwing, other plants have sprung up in 
the same towns, producing finished articles such as ribbons, 
broad goods, linings, and other goods made with highly 
developed automatic machinery. A high protective tariff 
has for several years been a big help to the silk throwsters 
of this country. No wonder that silk manufactories have 
grown numerous during the last few years. 

Preparation for weaving. — In the manufacture of silk 
fabrics, the process just described is the one followed where 
the warp and weft are dyed before weaving. Such goods 
are said to be "yarn dyed." From the throwing mills and 
dye works the silk is taken to the weaving mills to be made 
into cloth. The process of weaving is very similar to that 
previously described in the chapter on cotton manufacture. 

Warping. — The bobbins holding the warp are sent to the 
warping room. About four hundred or five hundred bob- 
bins are placed on a frame called a creel. From the creel 
the thread is unwound upon a warper reel in the proper 



214 TEXTILES 

lengths which, for broad silks and dress goods, usually 
run from three hundred to six hundred yards per piece. 
If different colors are used, they are ail properly arranged 
in order and number at this point. 

From the warper reel the warp is wound onto the warp 
beams in sections, usually about thirty in number for yard- 
wide cloth. Cloth of this width will require from nine 
thousand to twenty-one thousand warp threads, depending 
in number upon the size of the warp used and the size of 
mesh desired. The process of winding the warp requires 
about one day's work of one skilled operator. Every layer 
of silk that goes onto the beam is separated from the rest 
by a sheet of stiff paper the width of the beam. This paper 
prevents the warp from becoming entangled on the beam. 

Next the warp ends are passed through the loom har- 
nesses, every thread being passed through its proper heddle 
eye. The ends are passed similarly through the reed, and 
then all is ready for the loom. 

The process of threading the harness is usually shortened 
in a weaving mill by leaving in the harness and reed the last 
part of the warp of the piece previously woven, and then 
tying or twisting the ends of the old warp to the new. The 
new warp can then be pulled through into the harness at 
once. This process can be carried out much more quickly 
than when the new warp threads are to be passed through 
the heddle by hand. After the new warp has been passed" 
through, the old ends are cut off, and the new ends knotted 
together in clusters to prevent their slipping back again. 

Weaving. — The principle of the silk loom is the same as 
that of the cotton or wool loom, and need not be again 
described here. 

Yarn-dyed and piece-dyed goods. — Silk goods are often 
woven before the dye process is begun. In this case, the 
raw silk wound upon bobbins is simply warped and beamed 
and then woven in just about the same way as the yarn- 




Silk mill operative. 




SILK MANUFACTURING 215 

dyed goods. Such goods are frequently dyed or printed 
after the weaving. The name ''piece-dyed goods" is given 
to those that receive coloring after the weaving has been 
completed. The next process for either piece-dyed or yarn- 
dyed goods is the finishing. 

Where American mills excel. — In the weaving of plain 
goods, ribbons, and all goods that do not require a very 
high class of skilled labor, American mills now lead the 
world. Nearly all the ribbons used in this country, taffetas, 
dress goods, and staple lines are made here. The importa- 
tions are largely high novelties, hand-made silk velvets, 
hand-made laces, and so on. For such goods as the highest 
class and most stylish ribbons, America still looks to St. 
Etienne, France. For the highest grade, soft finished, lus- 
trous satins, and decorative silk brocades, people still look 
to Macclesfield, England. London still leads in the pro- 
duction of crepes. America also imports from Japan a 
considerable amount of extremely light weight and useful 
silk fabrics, such as habutai and kaiki silks. 

Wherever automatic, high-speed machinery can be used 
and large-scale production carried on, there this country 
leads the world; but where cheap labor or very highly 
skilled labor is demanded in abundance, America must still 
give place to the older silk-manufacturing nations. The 
recent progress in textile invention has been so great and 
the promise for the future so bright that even in the high- 
grade novelties, this country may soon rival Europe. But 
if so, it will probably be through further improvements in 
mechanical means rather than through changes in labor 
conditions. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK WASTE 

Sources of silk waste. — In the production and manufac- 
ture of silk a large part of the cocoon fiber is unfit for reel- 
ing or working up into the finest grades of silk fabrics. As 
in the manufacture of cotton and wool, there is considerable 
waste of raw material in the many processes and machines 
that are required. This so-called waste is by no means 
wasted. It is all carefully collected and used in the manu- 
facture of goods differing only in grade from the highest 
priced fabrics. 

Most of the wastes originate in the reeling process. First 
there is the outer part of the cocoons, the floss, which must 
be brushed off before reeling can begin. Then there is the 
inner part of the cocoon next to the chrysalis, which can 
never be entirely reeled off. Then, too, there are always a 
large number of imperfect cocoons that yield little or no 
fiber suitable-for reeling. All cocoons left for binding pur- 
poses and pierced at the end cannot be reeled and must be 
converted like other silk waste. Nor must we forget the 
waste fibers from the reel, short and tangled, and all need- 
ing to be worked over. Clippings, loose threads, and so 
on from dressmakers' establishments, from the silk goods 
manufactories, and from ragpickers' carts are all re- 
claimed and made into silk shoddy by running through 
shedding machines that tear up the material into fine floss. 
The process closely resembles that used in making wool 
shoddy. 

216 



THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK WASTE 217 

Variations in methods of use. — Naturally the method of 
utilizing silk wastes varies considerably according to the 
character of the waste. Raw waste from the cocoons needs 
a treatment differing from that given to silk shoddy. Short- 
fibered waste is treated differently from long-fibered waste, 
while colored waste goes through processes not at all used 
with white or uncolored' wastes. Obviously, the first step 
in the manufacture of silk wastes is classification of the 
material into as many varieties as may seem practicable. 
Some of this sorting and classifying is done by the pro- 
ducers of raw silk, some by the silk rag dealers who gather 
the wastes from makers-up, but most of the sorting is done 
in the silk manufactory. 

Degumming raw silk waste. — If the silk waste is raw, 
the first step is to remove the gum or sericin. There are 
two methods commonly employed, one usually practiced in 
France, Italy, and Switzerland, and the other in England 
and this country. The first is called the schappe method, 
and the latter is called the boiling off method. In the 
schappe method the raw silk waste is turned into large vats 
in rooms that are kept damp and warm. Here the silk 
begins to ferment, and this fermentation loosens the gum 
so that it may be washed away easily. The odor given off 
by the fermenting silk is so intensely offensive, however, 
that all such silk-washing plants must be located far from 
any human habitation. Workers in the plants grow accus- 
tomed to the stench and mind it comparatively little. The 
advantages claimed for this method are that the silk fiber 
left after washing is very glossy and that its strength has 
not been impaired in the least, if the fermentation is stopped 
at the right time. 

Boiling off method. — The English method consists in 
dumping the silk waste into cotton cloth bags and immersing 
them for some time in boiling soapsuds. This loosens the 
sericin or gum quickly and without any offensive odor.- 



2i8 TEXTILES 

This boiling process is about the same in principle as that 
employed in removing the gum from the reeled silk. 

Conditioning. — After the silk waste has been degummed 
it is ready for conditioning. It is washed, and then dried to 
the point where it will work best in the subsequent mechani- 
cal processes. Especially if it is to be sold before going 
through further processes, the conditioning as to the right 
amount of moisture is looked after very carefully before 
the goods are finally weighed out. Some moisture is neces- 
sary in order to have the silk work smoothly without be- 
coming charged with static electricity. 

Beating and opening. — The next process in its manufac- 
ture is running it through a machine called a beater. The 
fibers are pounded and beaten thoroughly to loosen them 
from each other and to dislodge any foreign matter not dis- 
solved in the boiling off or degumming process. From the 
beater the fibers are passed into another machine called an 
opener. This loosens all the lumps and makes the whole 
mass more fluffy. When the waste is made up of very 
long fibers, they are sometimes cut up into smaller pieces 
which will work more easily and smoothly. 

Carding and combing. — The next machine, known in 
England as a filling engine, cards and lays out the loose 
fibers in thin laps or strips similar to the card laps in the 
cotton and woolen industries. In all the better grades of 
silk waste, the next step is combing. This process is very 
similar to wool combing in the worsted industry, but in 
spun-silk manufacturing it is called silk dressing. The lap 
is run into the combing machine and the combed fiber may 
be re-combed again and again, often as many as five or 
six times. • Each combing is known as a draft. A consid- 
erable amount of silk noil is separated from the fiber. The 
better noils are mixed with loose silk waste to be worked 
over again. Medium grades of silk noils are used in mak- 
ing noil yarns and as such are frequently used in making 



THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK WASTE 219 

silk and wool mixtures. The shortest noils are mixed with 
the coarsest and poorest waste silks. These are not combed 
at all but simply carded and spun into yarn as in making 
yarn of short-fibered cottons. 

Drawing and spinning. — After the waste silk is properly 
combed the silk tops are put through gill boxes and draw- 
ing frames and reduced first to slubbing and then to roving 
in the same way as in combed wool production. The rov- 
ings are next spun on mule frames and usually doubled. 
This completes the spinning process. The yarns, after be- 
ing finished by singeing or gassing so that all fuzziness may 
be destroyed, are ready for weaving. 

Qualities of spun silk. — Spun silk is not quite so lustrous 
as thrown silk although it still retains much of the appear- 
ance and quality of that product. Nor is it so strong as 
thrown silk. But in both strength and luster much depends 
upon the .quality of the waste from which it is made up. 
Length and evenness of fiber very largely determine the 
appearance. The care used in dressing and spinning also 
adds to the strength and luster. 

Sometimes the silk waste is spun in the gum and the de- 
gumming process is not applied until the manufacturing 
processes are completed. 

Uses of spun silk yams. — The best grades of spun silk 
yarn are used as filling or weft in several varieties of silk 
fabrics, both plain and twill, and in pile goods such as vel- 
vets. Spun silk yarn of high grade is also used as warp 
in goods that have a cotton or wool filling. A considerable 
amount is used in the production of embroidery and knit- 
ting silks. 

Lower grades of spun silk yarns are used in making 
ribbons and silk cords, while the cheapest grades are used 
in making knit goods and the poorest and coarsest silk or 
silk-mixed fabrics. The poorest grades of spun silk, those 
which are carded only and not combed, are used as filling 



220 TEXTILES 

in cheaper grades of silk dress goods, in the silk upholstery 
fabrics, in polishing cloths, and in coarse grades of knit 
goods. The lowest grades of silk waste are used as steam 
pipe packing and as insulation material around electrical 
wires and in electrical instruments. Silk is a poor conduc- 
tor of heat and also of electricity, especially when dry; 
hence these uses for other than clothing purposes. 



CHAPTER XIX 

IMITATIONS OF SILK 

Reasons for imitating silk. — Silk, the most beautiful as 
well as the strongest of all textile fibers, is naturally in 
strong demand the world over. Nothing but its high cost 
of production prevents its more general use. One does not 
wonder that there is much interest in finding substitutes for 
this great fiber, or cheaper materials which combine as 
many of the qualities of true silk as possible; such, for 
example, as its high luster, its steel-like strength, its attrac- 
tive smoothness and softness, its elasticity, and its quality 
of taking the most delicate tints and shades in the dyeing 
process. Many experiments have been tried, much money 
has been expended, and much human energy exhausted 
in the desire to find such suitable substitutes. Many vege- 
table fibers such as cotton, ramie, linen, wood fiber, kapok, 
and others have been used in one way or another with some 
degree of success. Various finishing processes have been 
invented to give to cheaper fibers the appearance of silk, 
such as gassing or singeing, glossing, beating, and polish- 
ing. 

MERCERIZED COTTON 

None of the imitations of silk has been more widely 
adopted than mercerized cotton. Mercerization is a proc- 
ess applied to cotton yarns or fabrics which gives to the 
cotton fiber a silk-like luster, a somewhat greater strength 

221 



222 TEXTILES 

than that of ordinary cotton, and a greater affinity for 
dyes. Mercerized cotton is at the present time a direct 
competitor of silk in a great number of ways, both as an 
imitation and as a substitute. Its qualities are so excellent, 
however, that were it not for its value as a silk substitute 
it would still rank above ordinary cotton in its own right. 
Mercerized cotton has proved itself a most desirable addi- 
tion to the textiles. 

John Mercer. — The process of mercerizing cotton was 
discovered about 1844, by an Englishm.an named John Mer- 
cer, but he thought so little of his discovery that he took 
no patent on the process until 1850. At the time of his in- 
vention, he was a chemist in a large calico printing plant. 
His name is well known in textile chemistry. Besides mer- 
cerization, he invented several styles of calico printing and 
prepared for the first time a sulphonated oil (known as 
Turkey red oil) ever since used in producing certain fast 
dyes. He was the inventor of the blue-print photographic 
process, and also of several medical or pharmaceutical 
preparations. 

Story of mercerized cotton. — Samples of mercerized 
cloth were exhibited at a world's fair in London in 1857 
and attracted considerable attention ; but the cost of the 
chemicals used in mercerizing was then so high that the 
process seemed hardly feasible. Mercer, who died in 1866, 
was therefore in no way benefited by this valuable inven- 
tion. Not until the later eighties did mercerization become 
practical, and then for two reasons. First, certain im- 
provements were discovered in the methods of mercerizing ; 
and, second, the cost of the needful chemicals had consid- 
erably lessened since Mercer's time. By 1900 mercerized 
cotton was in extensive demand and the annual production 
and consumption have climbed every year since then. Its 
use is now widespread in a great number of fabrics, as the 
sole textile in some cases, as the warp in others, as filling 



IMITATIONS OF SILK 223 

in still others. In almost every sort of fabric in which silk 
is used, mercerized cotton is also employed. Its cheap- 
ness permits its use in a number of things for which silk 
would be impracticable because of prohibitive cost. 

The mercerizing process. — The process of mercerization 
is simple in principle. It consists simply in soaking the 
cotton or other vegetable fiber in strong caustic soda or 
caustic potash solutions for a few moments and then wash- 
ing in pure water to remove the caustic. The resulting 
change in the fiber as to appearance and quality is called 
mercerization. What actually takes place may be briefly 
explained. It will be recalled that cotton fiber is composed 
of almost pure cellulose. Caustics, when strong, attack 
these cellulose fibers, causing them to swell in diameter 
and contract in length. In natural condition the single cot- 
ton fiber is a flat, ribbon-like filament, but when immersed 
in caustic solutions it swells out and takes on a round and 
hair-like appearance, plump instead of flat. The difference 
between a mercerized fiber and an untreated fiber can be 
seen easily under a microscope. This change in form of 
the fiber is accompanied by a change in the substance. The 
cellulose is changed into another kind of chemical sub- 
stance called cellulose hydrate or hydro-cellulose. The 
principal difference between this substance and the old 
cellulose is that it has a much greater affinity for dye sub- 
stances. Cellulose cannot be dyed very easily except with 
certain very powerful dyes. Hydro-cellulose, on the other 
hand, absorbs almost any kind of dye readily and quickly. 
In fact, in dyeing mercerized cotton, it is customary to put 
in chemicals to check the process in order that the dyes 
may not enter so rapidly as to render the shading uneven. 

Qualities of mercerized cotton. — Loose cotton fibers 
placed in the caustic solution contract considerably, thus 
increasing the strength of the fiber. Hence, mercerized cot- 
tons, unless stretched too much, are generally considerably 



224 TEXTILES 

stronger than untreated cottons. Not only does the con- 
traction of the fiber strengthen it, but also the thickening 
of the diameter due to the expansion already described 
stiffens the structure of the fiber. This much Mercer dis- 
covered in 1844 and described in his application for a patent 
in 1850. But the silk-like luster that we now look for in 
mercerized cottons had not yet been developed. About 
1890 some textile makers in Germany were experimenting 
with the mercerizing process on yarns and woven cloth. 
It was found, as has already been suggested, that the process 
shortened the fibers, and consequently caused a noticeable 
shrinking in the yarn and cloth. This, the experimenters 
felt, was a disadvantage, and so they concluded that they 
would attempt to prevent this shrinkage by stretching the 
cloth and keeping it stretched full length while it was being 
mercerized. They were successful in keeping the fabric 
from shrinking, but what was their surprise, on taking the 
cloth out of the caustic and washing it, to find that it had a 
beautiful, silk-like luster ! The commercial possibilities of 
this discovery were not overlooked. A description of the 
process was quickly rushed to the patent offices of all 
countries, and mercerized cotton, glossy, smooth, and strong, 
became a big factor in commerce within a few years. Un- 
der the low tariff of the Democratic administration from 
1893 to 1897, European mercerized cottons were introduced 
into America, and American manufacturers presently began 
to produce the same sorts of goods for home consumption. 
Since 1903 the use of mercerized cotton has increased by 
leaps and bounds in about the same proportions as silk 
has increased in American use. When the fashions dictate 
a great vogue in silks, then mercerized cotton likewise leaps 
forward. When silks recede slightly, mercerized cotton 
feels the change also. 

Modern methods of mercerizing. — The modern methods 
of producing mercerized cotton closely follow the principle 



IMITATIONS OF SILK 225 

discovered by Mercer, together with the improvements dis- 
covered in 1890. Yarn or cloth that is to be mercerized 
is first given a soap and water scouring, soaked in clean 
water, and then run through rollers that extract most of 
the moisture. Next the material is run into the caustic 
solution bath, at a temperature of about 65° Fahrenheit, 
where it remains from ten to fifteen minutes ; longer would 
prove disastrous to the fabric. Sometimes the material is 
run through this bath in stretched condition; more fre- 
quently it is simply soaked in the caustic, removed, and then 
stretched before being rinsed. This seems to give the best 
results. After the cloth or yarn is stretched to its original 
length, it is washed in water to which acid has been added 
to counteract the action of the caustic in the material. Sul- 
phuric acid is the cheapest and most commonly used. Its 
use requires care, however, for slight overuse would harm 
the mercerized cotton as much as overexposure to the caus- 
tic. Acetic acid is not infrequently used since it is not at all 
dangerous to the cotton fiber and has the added advantage 
of giving to the mercerized cotton the feeling and the ten- 
dency to rustle, the "scroop," as it is called, that is found 
in true silk. Acetic acid is more expensive than sulphuric 
acid. Tartaric acid produces effects similar to acetic acid. 

Bleaching generally follows the mercerizing process, be- 
cause, if done previously, it slows down the mercerization, 
whereas mercerization is not affected by subsequent bleach- 
ing. The fabric is now ready for the finishing processes 
such as dyeing, singeing, polishing, and calendering. An 
excellent luster is obtained by singeing or gassing the yarns 
before they are mercerized. Too many of the little fine 
linty hairs found on the surface of cotton yarn dull the 
luster ; hence, gassing is necessary either before or after the 
mercerizing process. 

Any strong caustic causes cellulose to mercerize. Caustic 
soda, the cheapest of all, is most generally used. Caustic 



226 TEXTILES 

potash, while somewhat more expensive, gives a little better 
luster. Sodium peroxide gives a still better luster, al- 
though it entails other dangers, as for example, fire. Zinc 
chloride and several other substances are suitable but caus- 
tic soda is the most commonly used. To this a little carbon 
disulphide is sometimes added, which helps to give a better 
luster. In some cases alcohol is added to hasten the pene- 
tration or impregnation of the cotton fiber by the caustic 
solutions. 

Several attempts have been made to bleach and mercerize 
in one operation and thereby to lessen the time and expense 
involved in the production of mercerized fabrics. No suc- 
cess has yet been attained in these experiments. 

Mercerizing^ fibers other than cotton. — From what has 
just been said about the process of mercerization it is easily 
inferred that not only cotton but any fiber containing cellu- 
lose may be mercerized. Linen, ramie, jute, and wood 
fibers, and even paper have been successfully mercerized. 
But for textile purposes, since cotton is one of the cheap- 
est and most adaptable clothing fibers, it is ordinarily used. 

What cottons are best suited to mercerization. — Any 
length of cotton fiber can be mercerized ; where a high lus- 
ter or gloss is desired, it is advantageous to begin with long 
fibers having as much natural luster as possible. For this 
reason sea-island and Egyptian cottons are best suited for 
the finer mercerized goods. The fibers must be stretched 
either in or after the caustic bath. The long fibers of sea- 
island cotton are more easily stretched in the yarn or in 
the cloth than are the upland cotton fibers. Short fibers 
must be spun into hard-twisted yarns in order to stand the 
pull; this hard twist in the yarn of such cottons makes it 
somewhat difficult for the caustic solution to penetrate 
evenly. The long fibers of sea-island or Egyptian cotton 
can easily stand the stretching process even in a loose- 
twisted yarn. 



CL^.TH • 1 



ClPTH-2. 





r9im^FAFnL 













CLRTH • 5 




TWILL 



Standard weaves. 



IMITATIONS OF SILK 22^ 

Cottons are combed rather than carded. — Yarns to be 
mercerized are combed rather than carded, and it is not 
unusual to double-comb the fibers in order to make sure 
that all lie as nearly parallel as possible. After the combing 
process, any needed twist is given, after which the yarn 
may be gassed, as already suggested, before treatment in 
the caustic bath. 

Stretching. — Some manufacturers have experimented to 
see just how much stretching is necessary to get the highest 
luster. There is considerable difference of opinion upon 
this point. Some claim that the highest luster is obtained 
by stretching almost to the breaking point ; others claim that 
no additional luster can be gained by stretching cloth or 
yarn beyond its original length. It seems certain, however, 
that high degrees of luster found in mercerized cotton are 
almost always accompanied by a weakening in the strength 
of fiber. Mercerized yarn that has not been stretched is 
much stronger than the same size of ordinary cotton yarn. 
Even when the mercerized yarn has been stretched to its 
original length, the length before treatment with caustic, it 
is still somewhat stronger than ordinary yarn. Stretching 
it beyond this point, however, increases the luster at the 
expense of fiber strength. 

Uses of mercerized cotton. — Mercerized cotton answers 
many purposes. It is found in such materials as sateens, 
silkoline, tubsilk, cotton taffeta, linings, dress goods, skirt- 
ings, and in embroidery and crochet yarns in its own name. 
But it is also used in a great number of so-called silk-mixed 
fabrics, such as silk-mixed mohair, silk-mixed alpaca, silk- 
mixed woolen and worsted figured goods, silk-mixed worst- 
eds for men's wear, silk-mixed cottons, and so on. It is 
frequently used in figured cotton damask tablecloths and 
napkins. Mercerized cottons likewise figure largely in 
upholstery goods, draperies, curtains, and coverings. 

Producing crepe effects by mercerization. — The princi- 



228 TEXTILES 

pie of mercerization is sometimes employed to secure crepe 
effects in union goods, the mercerization attacking only one 
class of fibers or yarns, as for example the cotton threads 
introduced at regular intervals in a woolen structure. Such 
fabrics are called crepons. Between 1895 and 1900 these 
fabrics had a great vogue in this country. Most of the 
goods were imported from Germany. How this peculiar 
effect was obtained was for a considerable time a puzzle 
to Americans until they finally discovered that the drawn 
up effei:t, the creping, was due to the shrinking by mercer- 
izing of cotton threads inserted at the time of weaving into 
the woolen fabric, the wool remaining unaffected by the 
process. 

Special applications of mercerization. — Not always is the 
whole fabric mercerized in piece-goods mercerization. 
Sometimes the cloth to be mercerized is covered with a 
paste, leaving the cloth exposed only in certain places in 
the form of figures. In this condition the cloth is immersed 
in the caustic bath with the result that only the open figures 
are mercerized, the protected portions remaining plain cot- 
ton. The possible variations in finish may be made even 
more numerous by the dyeing process. Colors may be 
applied which dye the ordinary cotton faintly while giving 
the mercerized figures a very full, deep color. Another 
common method of part mercerization is by mercerizing 
the cotton cloth in stripes. This gives the seersucker effect. 
Several other similar types of manipulation are possible, 
although of interest mainly to the textile manufacturer. 



SILK SURFACING 

Another method of so treating cotton yarn as to make 
it look like silk has had considerable success, though not 
nearly so important as mercerizing. This method consists 



IMITATIONS OF SILK 229 

in soaking smooth cotton yarns in a solution of pure silk 
made by dissolving silk remnants and silk waste in some 
acid. A considerable amount of silk waste not used in 
spinning is disposed of in this way. The cotton yarn is 
first soaked in tannic acid or in some metallic acid solution, 
and then transferred to the silk solution bath. The prelimi- 
nary acid treatment causes the cotton more readily to take 
up the silk solution. After soaking in the silk liquid bath, 
the cotton yarns are dried, run between heavy rollers, 
gassed, and polished. Yarn so treated has a fine silk-like 
appearance. The cotton is indeed covered with a very thin 
film of true silk. Unfortunately this finish has very little 
durability, and its use is limited to goods which call for 
little hard wear or washing. 



THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF SILK 

There is still another method of imitating silk which 
from the standpoint of textile chemistry is really more 
fundamental than either of the methods just described. 
For a long time the chemical composition of silk has been 
accurately known. Its method of production by the silk- 
worm is pretty well understood. As will be recalled, this 
process consists simply of giving out thin filaments from 
the thick, sticky mass of silk gum found in the two sacks 
in the silkworm's body, the filament hardening into a strong 
fiber as soon as it comes into contact with the air. This 
simple process has suggested to many persons the possibility 
of artificially producing a gum of the same or similar 
chemical composition, a gum that would harden when pulled 
out into a fine hair-like thread. A great French scientisf 
named Reaumur suggested as far back as 1734 the possi- 
bility of the discovery and production of artificial silk. 
His own experiments were confined to the use of different 



230 TEXTILES 

kinds of varnish forced through minute holes in the bottom 
of sheet-iron or tin cans. The fibers hardened like true 
silk but no satisfactory use was ever made of them in a 
practical way. 

Andemars. — Not until 1855 was the subject revived 
again. In that year a Swedish chemist, Andemars, took 
out patents in the various European countries on a process 
of making artificial silk of cellulose pulp. It will be recalled 
from our study of cotton and linen that both of these fibers 
are nearly pure cellulose. Andemars made his cellulose 
from the inner bark of mulberry trees dissolved in alcohol 
and ether. From this sticky substance he drew out threads 
which hardened in the air after the fashion of genuine silk 
fiber. Cellulose differs from the silk substance mainly in 
the fact that it contains no nitrogen, whereas silk is about 
one-fifth nitrogen. 

Swan. — In 1883 an Englishman, J. W. Swan, discovered 
a method of making a pulp from cotton fibers by dissolving 
them in alcohol and ether. He passed this pulp through 
very small openings and then hardened it by passing it 
through water. The result was a number of fine silk-like 
threads. Swan made only a few experiments with his in- 
vention in the textile field. The product which he made 
was very inflammable; in fact, its composition was abouf 
the same as that of gun cotton or nitro-cellulose, and likely 
to explode with serious consequences. Few of us ardently 
desire to wear clothing of that character or to have our 
neighbors so clad. No insurance company would insure a 
building in which this material was made or stored. The 
early prejudice aroused against artificial silk because of its 
inflammability exists even to this day in certain European 
countries. In these countries fire insurance is not sold to 
any producer of cellulose silk. 

Chardonnet. — At about the time when Andemars took 
out his patent and continuing for several years later, a 



IMITATIONS OF SILK 231 

Frenchman named Chardonnet began to experiment in the 
making of artificial silk. He also used cotton, especially 
cheap cotton wastes, and made his sticky pulp paste by dis- 
solving the cotton in alcohol and ether. Chardonnet's first 
factory was started at Besangon, France. Although he was 
wealthy before beginning his experiments, in the course 
of a few years of experience with artificial silk making he 
went into bankruptcy. This did not discourage him. With 
the help of other men's capital he tried one method after 
another, until he achieved success in the making of artifi- 
cial silk. Chardonnet ranks in the textile field with Eli 
Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin, and Elias Howe, 
the inventor of the sewing machine. Neither of these was 
able to enjoy during his life any material fruits of his labor. 
Chardonnet, however, lived to see his invention of cellulose 
silk adopted as practical by the commercial w^orld. Char- 
donnet silk gained the esteem of the public in 1889, when 
several artificial silk products were displayed at the Paris 
Exhibition. Commercial demand can really be traced from 
that date. 

Chardonnet's process, as he finally perfected it, did not 
end all experimenting in making artificial silk. In fact, 
Chardonnet silk, while it is yet made in greater quantities 
than any other, seems destined to be superseded by better 
artificial silks, such as the cuprammonium and viscose varie- 
ties. But Chardonnet's process paved the way to practical 
use of this highly important textile. He solved the 
problem of making the artificial silk non-explosive ; he suc- 
ceeded in making it even less inflammable than ordinary 
cotton. 

Other varieties of artificial silk. — Three other varieties 
of artificial silk have been tried. One of these, gelatin silk, 
the one which in chemical composition most nearly resem- 
bles true silk, has proved the least satisfactory. None 
whatever is made now for practical uses. Gelatin silk is 



232 TEXTILES 

sometimes called vanduara silk. The other two are cupram- 
monium and viscose silks. 

Cuprammonium silk. — In making cuprammonium silk, 
cotton cellulose is dissolved into a paste by means of cup- 
rammonium, or ammoniacal solution of cupric oxide, instead 
of alcohol and ether. The fibers are drawn in jets from 
the cylinder in which the paste is compressed and are 
hardened in acetic acid. A considerable amount of this 
artificial silk is made in Germany. It is known in the 
German language as glanzstoff. 

Viscose silk. — Viscose silk is made from wood pulp, gen- 
erally that of spruce wood. This substance also is mostly 
cellulose but acts somewhat differently from cotton cellulose. 
Wood cellulose is dissolved in strong alkali and carbon 
bisulphide. The paste formed is called viscose. This is 
made into fibers by being forced through tiny pipes or jets 
and hardened in a solution of ammonium chloride. Viscose 
silk is likely to be the most popular of the artificial silks. 
Its qualities seem to be somewhat better than those of 
either the Chardonnet or the cuprammonium silks, while 
the cost of making is somewhat less. Chardonnet and cup- 
rammonium silks are still made in large quantities in France, 
Switzerland, England, Belgium, and Germany, but in the 
one large artificial silk factory in the United States, located 
near Philadelphia, viscose silk is the product manu- 
factured. 

Experiments going on. — Experimentation is still going 
on. Great discoveries are still likely to be made in the 
production of this textile material. There are now nearly 
a score of processes besides the four mentioned above, but 
the three noted as successful are the ones which are used 
in producing fully nine-tenths of the commercial artificial' 
silk. It is noteworthy that the American plant near Phila- 
delphia expended over a million dollars in tests and experi- 
ments before a pound of the yarn was sold. Recently there 



IMITATIONS OF SILK 233 

has appeared the advertising of new artificial silk which 
does not have some of the objectionable features of ordi- 
nary artificial silk, such, for example, as the tendency to 
weaken and go to pieces in water. 

Qualities of artificial silk. — The Chardonnet process silks 
together with other products made by using similar chemi- 
cals (that is, pulp, ether, and alcohol) are sometimes called 
pyroxylin silks. Occasionally they are called collodion silks ; 
viscose silk is sometimes called wood silk. All of the arti- 
ficial silks are very bright in luster, even more so than true 
silk. They are usually stif¥er, and may or may not have 
the feel of true silk. Most varieties are somewhat harsher 
than true silk, and none have its elasticity. The size of the 
filaments varies, but artificial silk can be made as fine as 
natural silk. In making ordinary artificial silk the diameter 
of the filament is usually about 4/1000 of an inch. It takes 
about 33,000 yards of such filaments to make a pound. A 
single yarn is usually made up of from fifteen to twenty 
filaments. The yarn made of artificial silk is not so strong 
as true silk yarn of the same size, but while dry it is con- 
siderably stronger than cotton. Until recently, at least, no 
method has been discovered to keep the filaments from 
weakening in moisture. When wet, the yarns are usually 
not more than about a sixth as strong as when dry. This 
has been one of the main objections to artificial silk, since it 
is necessary to use it in only such goods as do not become 
wet or need washing. 

Artificial silk seems incapable of withstanding high tem- 
peratures. At a temperature of about 300° Fahrenheit it 
chars and is destroyed. Cotton, wool, and true silk all 
stand considerably higher temperatures than this before 
being materially injured. Hence, artificial silk must be 
handled very carefully when calendered or ironed. Using 
fiatirons at the temperatures appropriate for cotton or even 
true silk would ruin artificial silk. 



234 TEXTILES 

Amounts of artificial silk used and value. — It is esti- 
mated that the amount of artificial silk used in this country 
at present is nearly one-fifth as great as the quantity of true 
silk. This is probably too large an estimate, but the amount 
used is certainly increasing every season. The cost of the 
yarns ranges from $1.75 to $2.50 a pound, whereas real 
silks cost more than twice as much. 

Uses of artificial silk. — Artificial silk is used mainly in 
the production of braids, passementerie, trimmings for 
hats and dresses, knit neckties, curtains, tapestries, ribbons, 
and as the warp in certain kinds of dress goods. A recent 
estimate made in the Scientific American states that fully 
ninety per cent of all silk braids and passementerie is now 
made from artificial silk. 

Artificial silk cloth. — Artificial silk cloth is not neces- 
sarily made in the usual way by making artificial silk threads 
into yarn and then weaving cloth from the yarn. A much 
quicker process is sometimes employed. The pulp or paste 
may be poured over a large flat surface rolled out thin and 
then marked with rollers engraved in such a way as to give 
the material -the appearance of having been woven. In this 
way much millinery silk is made, as for instance, tulle or 
maline. The appearance is good, the cost is low, and the 
service is excellent so long as the fabric remains dry. Al- 
most any sort of weave may be imitated by this process. 

Mixing other fibers with silk. — Silk itself is often mixed 
with baser and cheaper fibers in such a way as to show on 
the outside any silk that exists in the fabric. Cotton-backed 
satins, cotton-mixed pile fabrics, silk warp cotton and wool 
goods, and so on are lines in which silk is so manipu- 
lated. Such treatment is entirely legitimate so long as buy- 
ers know what they are getting. Some very desirable and 
inexpensive fabrics are made up of silk mixed with other 
textiles, the beauty of the silk going far towards reclaiming 
and beautifying the cheaper and coarser fibers. 




Standard weaves. 



IMITATIONS OF SILK 235 



SILK WEIGHTING 

But there is another method of using silk that is less 
fair, since it adds no utility to the fabric. This is silk 
adulteration. The most common method is by means of 
weighting. By means of weighting the manufacturer can 
take a pound of raw silk and turn out therefrom as many 
as three or four pounds of silk cloth or even more. The 
product is a cheat and even the pound of true silk used is 
spoiled by the addition of the weighting. 

Object of weighting. — As a rule only reeled silks are 
weighted. Spun silk is so much cheaper that it does not 
pay to introduce the weighting materials and expend the 
time and labor necessary to increase the weight. Reeled 
silk is high in value and much in demand; hence the con- 
stant temptation to make the silk go farther than it really 
should by means of loose, sleazy weaving, the necessary 
weight being added by means of adulterations. Certain 
exceptions to this statement should be noted, however. Knit 
silk mufflers, scarfs, and hoods made of waste silk are legiti- 
mately weighted. The additional weight gives a better 
feeling to this class of goods. 

Means of weighting silk have been known for many cen- 
turies, but as a commercial practice weighting does not date 
back much more than thirty or thirty-five years. Silk 
dresses made before that time cost more than they do now, 
but they wore proportionately better. Silk is the strongest 
and most durable of all textiles when properly prepared, 
but when weighted it loses much of its strength. 

Weighting of raw silk. — The Chinese have been adepts 
in weighting silk. For years it was almost impossible to 
get a pound of pure silk from this country. Every pound 
of silk yarn had been increased to two or three by means 
of weighting with acetate of lead. Suspicion grew to such 



236 TEXTILES 

an extent that it severely hurt the Chinese silk trade. The 
government of China has taken some steps to stop the prac- 
tice. Foreign silk buyers have established themselves in 
several of the silk districts in China ; they buy nothing but 
cocoons which they have reeled in their own filatures, to 
make sure that they may have nothing but pure raw silk 
to send abroad. Sometimes, also, weighting is applied after 
the raw silk has been thrown and while it is being made 
ready for dyeing. 

Weighting substances used. — The substances used in 
weighting silks include tannin in any one of several forms, 
salts of metals such as iron, tin, chromium, sodium, mag- 
nesium, and barium, and such substances as sugar, glucose, 
gelatin, glycerin, and paraffin. This list by no means in- 
cludes all that may be used. However, tannin, iron, tin, and 
sugar are the most common. 

Explanation of weighting. — Weighting depends upon the 
fact that silk has great absorptive power. For example, a 
pound of pure raw silk will absorb nearly half a pound of 
tannin in any of its several forms before giving any visible 
indication of being changed in character. Furthermore tan- 
nin has a marked affinity for certain metals, such as iron 
and tin, in the form of chemical salts. A pound of silk 
loaded with tannin and soaked in solutions of iron salt wiH 
take up iron to the extent of another half-pound without any 
visible effect in the silk. By adding more chemicals of 
various kinds, the total weight of the pound of raw silk 
may be brought up to three or four pounds, and in some 
experiments has been brought up to nine pounds, before 
the apparent silk qualities of the yarn or cloth were lost. 
Silks to be given a dark or black dye will stand more weight- 
ing than light-colored silks, for the latter are likely to be 
discolored by too much weighting. Iron salts are most 
suitable and cheapest for the dark-colored silks; tin salts 
are used for the light-colored silks. 



IMITATIONS OF SILK 237 

Methods of weighting silk. — The usual method of ap- 
plication of weighting is somewhat as follows. In the 
boiling-off process, by which the natural gum of the silk 
is removed, the silk loses approximately one-fifth of its 
weight. It has always been felt legitimate to add weighting 
to this extent. In fact, a silk that contains no more than 
this amount of weighting is called a pure dye silk. The silk' 
is immersed in a solution of catechu, cutch. Or some other 
substance rich in tannin. The lost fifth is quickly replaced 
by the tannin. But the ease with which iron or tin may 
be added and the demands for silk cloth of considerable 
weight, cause silk manufacturers to transfer the silk from 
the tannin vats to the iron or tin baths. After this, the 
cloth is taken out, washed in pure water, and tests are made 
to see how much weighting has been added. If it is felt 
that more will prove profitable, the silk goes back through 
the weighting baths again, sometimes more than once. After 
the weighting and washing are completed, the silks are ready 
for the dyeing. 

Effects of weighting. — The results of weighting may be 
most disastrous to the life of the silk. In the first place, the 
fabric begins to lose its strength as soon as weighting is 
applied. The more the weighting, the less the strength. 
Wearing the silk soon causes it to disintegrate and laying 
it away or storing it causes it to crack or crumble. Heavily 
weighted silk must be worked up into garments or whatever 
else it is intended for very soon after it is made ; otherwise 
in a few months it becomes useless. Spots develop in the 
dye after a time, perhaps because of unevenness in weight- 
ing or from other causes. Salt water, perspiration, and tears 
cause spots to be formed, spots which sometimes disinte- 
grate as if the places touched had been eaten out by strong 
acids. Sunlight attacks weighted silk, and, were it not for 
the addition of certain counteracting chemicals, would soon 
cause the silk to fall to pieces. No matter what one does 



238 TEXTILES 

with weighted silk, it is certain to lose its usefulness in a 
comparatively short time. If one uses it, it wears out; if 
one lays it away, it cracks, crumbles, or rots^ to pieces. 
Neither storage in light nor in darkness can save it. 



CHAPTER XX 
CONSTRUCTION, COLOR, AND FINISH OF CLOTH 

CLOTH DESIGNING 

The appearance of the cloth is a vital factor in the suc- 
cess of the textile business. The eye of the consumer musf 
find the fabric attractive. Costly experiments are made 
to find out what people want. The designing of fabrics is 
an art that ranks with the highest, since it requires both a 
high grade of technical skill and that broad knowledge of 
markets which comes from genuine knowledge of people. 
Designers must be close students of style tendencies, of 
current fashions, and of popular taste. The one who works 
out designs for new fabrics must consider such matters as 
seasonal or climatic demands, appropriateness to use, ap- 
propriateness with reference to other materials with which 
the fabrics are likely to be used, the artistic standards of 
the people to whom the goods are to be offered, harmony 
and beauty in the designs, etc. 

Sources of designs.^Successful designers of fabrics 
are not numerous. The majority of designs fail to meet 
popular approval. Naturally, then, successful fabric de- 
signers can command high salaries. Many of the designs 
made in this country imitate those already produced in 
Europe, France, Germany, or England. The American 
designer in such cases merely copies, or else makes some 
simple change which seems to him likely to appeal to th^ 
American. 

239 



240 TEXTILES 

General methods of varying the design. — There are in 
general three methods used to vary the appearance of cloth ; 
namely, variations in weave, in color, and in finishing meth- 
ods. These, together with some of their applications, may 
best be given at first in an outline. 

/. Variations in weaving. 

a. Introducing different weaves. 

b. Using threads of different sizes in the weaves. 

c. Using threads spun either to the right or to the 

left and using weft spun in one direction and 
warp spun in the other. 

d. Using warp or weft spun so hard that the clotfi 

crinkles or crepes on being released from the 
loom. 

e. Combinations of the above. 

//. Variations in coloring. 

a. Loose fibers dyed before spinning. 

b. Yarn dyed before weaving — dyed yarns used in 

weaving stripes, checks, and figures. 

c. Cloth dyed in the piece after weaving. 

d. Colors printed on the woven fabric. 

e. Colors printed on the warp only. 

f. Combinations of the above. 

///. Variations due to finishing methods. 

a. Degree of whiteness due to bleaching. 

b. Napped surface — short or long. 

c. Filled or weighted — variations in weight. 

d. Loose. 

e. Close. 

f. Soft. 

g. Stiff. 




C'iP.li 





F9.1HTFAFEK- 



^ # # .f > ^ 
* p # f t # 



. * r # ^ 4 # .# # J 



<f r > .#. # # .# # ! 



r »* .# j^ .^ f f . 
: f # # # # * 
. *" ^ * # # If 






Standard weaves. 



CONSTRUCTION, COLOR, AND FINISH 241 

h. Elastic. 

i. Dull. 

j. Gloss or luster. 

k. Moire. 

1. Pressed. 

m. Natural. 

n. Crinkled effects. 

o. Imitations of other textile fabrics, such as linen 
finish, silk finish, wool finish. 

p. Special finishes, such as velvet finish, chinchilla 
finish, threadbare finish, worsted finish, unfin- 
ished worsted, etc. 

q. Waterproofing — hard or soft finish. 

r. Fireproofing. 

s. Antiseptic finish. 

Woven Structures. — The different kinds and makes of 
looms produce an almost infinite variety of weaves or woven 
structures. We are not now interested in the mechanical 
details of the different kinds of looms, but rather in their 
products, the kinds of cloth structures. In a general way 
all woven structures may be classified under the following 
groups : 

1. Plain cloths. 

2. Twills. 

3. Satins or sateens. 

4. Pile cloths. 

5. Gauze or netting. 

6. Double cloths. 

7. Lappet weaves. 

8. Figured cloths. 

These structures can be made in all classes of textiles, 
cotton, wool, linen, and silk. 

Directions for Studying Woven Structures. — In 
studying woven structures it is advisable for the student 



^4^ TEXTILES 

to provide himself with a sample from each group men- 
tioned, and to study it carefully, under a magnifying glass 
if possible, to make sure that the distinguishing characteris- 
tics of each class of woven structure are fully understood. 
He should pull the sample to pieces, a thread at a time, and 
should carefully note how the threads are interlaced; how 
the different threads compare in size; whether they are 
spun to the left or to the right, and so on. Note particu- 
larly the great change in the appearance of the cloth that 
results from what seems to be a very small matter in the 
arrangement of the threads. There is no other way in which 
to learn to know cloth except by studying cloth itself. All 
that this chapter can do is to point out what the student 
should look for. Those who are not regularly working 
in the textile trade should provide themselves with samples 
of all of the cloths mentioned, stitch or fasten them into a 
blank book, and then refer to them from time to time, re- 
viewing the essential qualities of structure found in each. 
The test of good study of this subject will be the student's 
ability to tell what the structure or weave of a fabric really 
is; and he should be able to do this practically as soon as 
he sees and feels the cloth. 

Plain zveave. — In the plain cloths the warp and weft are 
regularly interlaced, alternating over and under throughout 
the cloth. For example, it will be found that every second 
warp thread is above the filling thread, while the alternate 
threads are below, and the positions of the warp threads 
are reversed for the next filling thread, and so on. The 
weft or filling threads run at right angles to the warp passing 
over and under each other in regular succession. 

When the warp and the weft are of the same size, plain 
cloth presents an even, uniform appearance. If closely 
woven the surface will appear smooth. But smoothness also 
depends upon the character of the yarns. Some yarns tend 
to lie more closely together than others. Closeness of con- 



CONSTRUCTION, COLOR, AND FINISH 243 

tact of warp and weft is secured also by using warp spun 
in one direction and weft spun in the opposite direction. 
(The student should verify this statement by taking large- 
size twine or rope, one piece twisted to the left and tlie other 
to the right. By laying them at right angles across each 
other, just as warp and weft cross each other, he will see 
that they tend to sink into each other better than if they 
are both spun in the same direction.) As a result of the 
way the yarns are spun and the degree of hardness with 
which the cloth is woven, the cloths are either close or open 
in texture. 

By varying the size of the threads of either the warp 
or the weft, a corded effect is produced. By using cer- 
tain large-sized yarns at regular intervals, stripes, checks, 
and other patterns may be made. 

Some of the common cotton plain cloths are calico, per- 
cale, gingham, muslin, batiste, cambric, challis, outing flan- 
nel, and cotton chiffon. The differences are largely in the 
size of yarns used and methods of coloring. To the above 
might be added such special varieties of cloth as sheetings, 
India linen, long cloth, mull, lawn, organdy, cotton voile, 
seersucker, shirting, etc. Among the plain weaves in wool 
goods are wool muslin, broadcloth, flannel, voile, nun's 
veiling, panama, woolen cloths, etc. In linens one may find 
linings, coatings, trouserings, and so on. In silks the plain 
weaves include taffeta, most of the foulards, and a number 
of other fabrics finished in several styles. 

Showing the corded effects produced by using yarns of 
unequal size in the making of the cloth are poplin, pique, 
whipcord, Bedford cord, plain repp, grosgrain, ottoman, 
faille, and several others. 

Twill wewves. — In the twill weaves the threads or yarns 
do not pass over and under regularly as in the plain weaves 
previously described. Instead the threads are so woven 
together as to pass over one and under two, or over one 



244 TEXTILES 

and under three, four, five, or six ; or over two or three and 
under one, two, three or four. Besides these there may be 
several other combinations, more than can well be described 
here. The best way to get a clear idea of twill weaves is 
by the study of cloth actually woven in these ways. Most 
twills have a diagonal effect or appearance. This is pro- 
duced by having the filling thread pass under and over a dif- 
ferent set of warp threads each time. The order of interlac- 
ing for the regular diagonal twills is usually moved over one 
thread to the right, or to the left, with each filling thread that 
is woven. This results in the forming of the diagonal ridges 
on the surface of the cloth. 

As with the plain weaves, a great number of variations 
are possible in the way of using yarns of different sizes, of 
different qualities, and of different colors. In fact there is 
much greater opportunity for variation in the twill weave 
than in the plain. For example, weavers can vary the direc- 
tion of the diagonal lines to almost any angle. The lines can 
be made to curve, to wave, and to take other forms. When 
the direction of the diagonal lines is reversed at short inter- 
vals so as to form a zigzag line, the figure is known as ''her- 
ringbone," because of its supposed likeness to the arrange- 
ment of the backbone in a herring. 

The object of twill weaving is not simply that of produc- 
ing more fancy and attractive fabrics than plain cloths, but 
also of making heavier and stronger cloth. Twills are al- 
most invariably closer in texture than plain weaves. 

In appearance, twills differ from plain w^eaves in that 
the surfaces are covered with diagonal lines running across 
the cloth. When these lines are very clearly marked the 
cloth is called diagonal rather than twill, but it should be 
remembered that diagonals are nothing but very clearly 
marked twills. 

Some examples of cotton twills are jean, ticking, drilHng, 
moleskin, canton flannel, twilled dimity, etc. Linen twills 



CONSTRUCTION, COLOR, AND FINISH 245 

include linen ticking, drilling, table and towel drills, mar- 
sella cloth, etc. Wool twills comprise serge, prunella, thibet, 
cashmere, merino, buckskin, etc. Among silk twills are silk 
serge, twill foulard, and silk croise. 

Satin weaves. — The satin or sateen weave is a special 
form of the twill in which the principle of the twill is 
employed, but in which no trace of the twill structure, sucK 
as diagonal lines, is visible on the surface of the cloth. The 
result is a fabric, close in texture, with a smooth, glossy 
finish and generally a dull back. 

By closely examining a piece of satin or sateen cloth, the 
student will find that the smooth, shiny surface is due to 
the fact that the threads lie parallel and close to each other 
and pass under the threads running at right angles only 
at intervals of six, seven, eight, and more cross threads. 
That is, the overshot threads pass for considerable distances 
before being crossed by the threads running in the opposite 
direction. The interlacing is managed at such irregular 
places and intervals in the cloth as to prevent any line or 
twill figure forming. 

Satin weaves in cotton goods are frequent and numerous, 
but are generally called sateen or satine. Such goods are 
used extensively in making linings, night shirts, pajamas, 
and certain grades of work shirts. The heavier qualities 
are used for corsets, shoe linings, etc. Cotton is often 
mixed with silk in making satin weaves, threads being so 
arranged that most of the silk shows on the face while the 
cotton remains on the back. Such goods are often called 
cotton-back satins. Satin rhadame is another cotton-mixed 
silk satin. Atlas cloth is still another, but this is sometimes 
made up of cotton or even of linen alone. 

Linen is sometimes woven in satin weaves and, like cot- 
ton, is used for linings and other uses. Wool is worked 
up in the satin weaves for dress goods such as satin cloth 
or satin de laine. 



246 TEXTILES 

In silk, however, satin weaves are most common. The 
peculiar quality of silk, its glossy, bright surface, gives it 
excellent appearance in the satins and satin-finished goods. 
Among the silk satins there are the ordinary satins; satin 
de Lyon, a twilled back satin often ornamented with hair 
or line stripes, and used for linings, especially in coaf 
sleeves; satin de chine, a soft, fine fabric also used as lin- 
ing; duchess satin, a fine quality of high luster and soft 
texture ; satin foulard ; marabout satin, smooth and fine, 
used in millinery ; and sun satin, a ribbed or lined cloth also 
used in millinery. 

Style fabrics in satin. — ^During the last few years satin- 
finished goods have had much popular favor. Several spe- 
cial variations have naturally been created, such as mar- 
veilleux, a satin-faced fabric showing a twill back; messa- 
line, a soft, thin lustrous silk with a satin finish ; satin char- 
meuse, a very rich appearing satin-finished fabric especially 
well suited to draping; satin crepe, a silk fabric combining 
the crepe feature with the satin weave ; and crepe meteor, a 
silk fabric somewhat less brilliant than satin for the reason 
that the overshot is not so long. Crepe meteor has, in other 
words, a satin weave on a small scale. 

Pile weaves. — Pile fabrics are characterized by having 
elastic fuzzy surfaces. This hairy or fuzzy surface is the 
particular part to which the name "the pile" is given. The 
commonest examples are velvet and plush. In those fabrics 
the pile consists of threads standing upright and all cut off 
evenly. In velvets these threads are shorter than in plushes ; 
otherwise there is no difference. But there are other pile 
fabrics in which the pile consists of loops of threads instead 
of ends as in velvets and plush. Turkish toweling is an 
example of this kind. 

During the last few years great progress has been made 
in the manufacture of plushes in which the pile resembles 
animal furs, as for example silk seal plush, broadtail or 



as.jn ' 1 





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PAPEF>- 




Standard weaves. 



CONSTRUCTION, COLOR, AND FINISH 247 

baby lamb, Persian lamb, Russian lamb, and pony skin. 

Very light pile fabrics, such as chiffon plush, have come 
into considerable use for trimmings, millinery, and so on. 
With silk pile fabrics as with wool, cheaper textiles are 
generally introduced for backing. Velvets and plushes are 
so generally part cotton that a silk velvet should be con- 
sidered as having a cotton back unless it is definitely stated 
that it is "silk backed." In carpet manufacture, the pile 
weave is very important. Brussels, Wilton, and tapestry 
are all pile fabrics, as the student may readily observe. 
Chenille cloth is a fabric with a pile on both surfaces. 

Gauze weaves. — Gauze or netting is a form of weave 
produced on a special loom. The fabrics are very light and 
open, resembling lace. In fact, the progress in machine- 
made laces during the last few years has reduced the num- 
ber of kinds of fancy nettings. The essential characteristic 
of gauze or netting is that in its construction, in addition 
to the regular sets of warp and weft threads used in a 
plain weave, extra threads, generally warp, are introduced 
which do not run parallel with the rest of the warp. These 
extra threads variously intertwine with the regular 
threads. 

The commonest and simplest form of netting has an ex- 
tra warp thread for every regular warp thread. The extra 
thread is wound around the regular thread as the weaving 
proceeds, a half-turn for every new filling thread inserted. 
This construction can easily be seen and studied in a piece 
of mosquito netting, where the threads and the mesh or 
openings between the threads are relatively coarse, and 
therefore easy to study. The weave found in mosquito 
netting and in the finer fabrics used for dress purposes, but 
of similarly simple construction, are known as leno weaves, 
and the looms making them are called leno looms. Nettings 
of various kinds are made from cotton, linen, wool, and silk 
and are used for light-weight gowns, flounces, window cur- 



248 TEXTILES 

tains, and for many other purposes in dress and dress deco- 
ration. 

Double-cloth weaves. — Double-cloth weaving is a proc- 
ess of making two cloths at the same time. Two sets of 
warp and of filling are used, but in the weaving process the 
two are attached by interlacing which makes the finished 
product a solid fabric. This construction is used in making 
heavy cloths such as heavy overcoatings, cloakings, pile 
fabrics, golf or Albert cloth, etc. This construction is also 
used where it is desired to use expensive textiles such as 
silk for the face and have considerable thickness or bulk 
back of it of cheaper materials. Many rich, heavy appear- 
ing silks are constructed in this way. In some instances 
this method of weaving is not limited to simply doubling 
the cloth, or making two-ply fabric as it is called, but is 
also used in making three-ply and even four-ply cloths. 
These weaves are especially serviceable in places where 
great strength and wear-resisting qualities are necessary 
as in cotton machinery belting. 

The double-cloth weave is also used in making tubular 
cloths, such as pillow cases, pockets, seamless grain bags, 
etc. In these cases, however, the top and bottom fabrics 
are not connected as in regular double cloth. 

Lappet weaves. — Lappet weaves are imitations of em- 
broidery introduced into other weaves, such as plain or 
gauze. By means of a mechanical device on the loom, 
simple little designs are stitched into the warp, as, for in- 
stance, in dotted swiss, and certain narrow, continuous 
figures running into stripes or scrolls. Elaborate figures are 
not possible by this method of weaving. 

Figured weaves. — Figured weaves are produced mainly 
by Jacquard looms, especially in making elaborate figuring. 
This loom is so devised that every warp thread is separately 
controlled and may be raised or lowered at the will of the 
operator or according to the design worked out before. 



CONSTRUCTION, COLOR, AND FINISH 249 

The control of the warp is made automatic by the use of 
pasteboard cards with holes punched in them corresponding 
to the design desired. In the loom the mechanical arrange- 
ment, similar to that of a piano player using paper record 
rolls, is guided by the perforations or holes in the cards, 
the proper warp threads are drawn up or let down, and 
the filling thread is shot through in the usual way. 

There is practically no limit to the number of figures 
or designs possible on the Jacquard loom. It uses all kinds 
of textiles. It combines other types of weaves as a ground-^ 
work for the figures, and it uses yarns of many colors. 

Cotton and linen damask are examples of figured weaving 
in the vegetable textiles. Wool damask, brocade, carpets, 
rugs, fancy vesting, etc., are common wool goods woven in 
Jacquard looms. But in the silks the greatest variety and 
qualities are to be found in damasks, brocades, broches, and 
brocatels. These figures, some flat, some raised, some 
sunken in the fabrics, are made on all sorts of regular 
weaves, plain, net, twill, satin, and pile. The goods are 
used for many purposes of a decorative character, for dress, 
upholstery, robes, hangings, carpets, etc. 



CHAPTER XXI 
DYEING AND PRINTING 

Recent development of textile dyeing. — Nature riots in 
color. The dyeing process generally consists in taking some 
object of nature rich in a certain color, some plant, some ani- 
mal substance, or some mineral, extracting the essential 
coloring substance therefrom, and then applying this color- 
ing matter to the white or light-colored textile materials. 
During the last sixty years, however, there has been a great 
development in methods of extracting coloring substances 
from minerals, particularly from coal tar, a substance which 
in its crude state appears to contain none of the hundreds 
of beautiful colors, tints, and shades which chemical proc- 
esses reveal. In fact, nearly all other coloring matters have 
lost ground before this new and powerful rival. Certain 
vegetable dyes of great importance in former days have 
been entirely replaced by coal-tar dyes. 

The principle of dyeing. — The principle of dyeing can 
be simply stated. The coloring substances are mixed with 
some liquid, usually water, in proper proportions. Into this 
mixture, known as the dye liquor, the undyed textile is 
placed; whereupon the cloth or yarn becomes soaked with 
the dye. The coloring matter either fastens itself upon, or 
combines with, the textile in more or less permanent fashion. 
This transfer of the coloring matter from the dye liquor 
to the textile has been explained by the chemists as being 
caused by definite affinity or attraction between the dyes 
and the textiles. 

250 



DYEING AND PRINTING 251 

For the dyer a knowledge of chemistry is necessary. He 
must know of what chemical substances his textiles are 
composed, and for what other substances these textiles have 
affinities. With this knowledge he seeks the combination 
of dye materials that will give the color desired and at the 
same time have the proper attraction for the textile. The 
greatest difference exists between the animal fibers, wool 
and silk, and the vegetable fibers, cotton, linen, ramie, and 
so on. Wool attracts and takes a deep color from some 
substances that give cotton no more than a fleeting tint. 
The converse is equally true. Hence different textiles im- 
peratively demand different dyes and different dyeing 
methods. 

Production of fast colors. — The fastness of color so de- 
sirable in the textile fabrics depends solely upon the strength 
of the affinity between the textile and the coloring substance. 
Fastness to washing indicates that the affinity between the 
textile and the dye is stronger than any affinity that might 
exist between the dye and the water, or between the dye and 
the soapsuds. Perspiration affects the dyes in some fabrics ; 
that is, there is a stronger affinity between the dye and 
perspiration than between the dye and the fabric, as a con- 
sequence of which the textile becomes discolored or fades. 
The oxygen in the air, especially in the sunlight, has a 
powerful affinity for many substances. Its power is demon- 
strated by the fading of many colors when exposed to air 
and sunlight. The active oxygen pulls the color out of the 
textile, leaving a sadly faded material. 

Problems in the chemistry of dyeing. — The chemist in 
charge of the dye process must not only find the coloring 
matter that will give his textile material the right tint or 
shade and have a strong affinity for it, but he must also 
make sure that the affinity between the coloring matter and 
the textile is stronger than the affinity between that coloring 
matter and other substances with which it is likely to come 



252 TEXTILES 

into contact, such as water, soap, light, air, and perspira- 
tion. He must, furthermore, consider how the requisite 
dyes and methods may be made appHcable at reasonably 
low cost. 

The processes through which the textile must pass and 
the purposes for which it is to be used are all considered 
by the chemist. For example, materials to be heated, 
steamed, washed, or scrubbed in the finishing processes 
must have dye materials in them that are not affected by 
these processes. Fabrics to be made up into underwear 
are not subjected to strong light as a rule, but must stand 
perspiration and washing in soapsuds. Hence the chemist 
selects dyes that have no affinity for perspiration, water, or 
soap when preparing dye materials for underwear goods. 
Cloth to be made up into shirts, aprons, house dresses, 
children's dresses, and similar uses must stand light, air, 
washing, and perspiration. Suitings that are not to be 
washed may be dyed so as to be fast to light and air, but 
not to water or soap. Fabrics intended for stylish evening 
wear need not be made fast to sunlight nor washing ; there- 
fore the happy chemist is free to concentrate his attention 
on producing a very brilliant or unusually delicate tint or 
shade. Formerly, hosiery for women was dyed to stand 
fast against washing, friction, and perspiration, but lately 
low shoes and high skirts have made it necessary to make 
hosiery colors fast to light also. Winter goods need not 
have colors so fast to light as must summer goods, for the 
winter light is far less bright and active. Goods for street 
wear are likely to be spattered with dust or mud. This 
street mud is likely to contain lime or other substances 
that may have a strong affinity for ^textile coloring mat- 
ters ; therefore such goods need dyes which are dust proof, 
mud proof, and shower proof. These are some of the 
many problems of the textile chemist in the modern dye 
works. 




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Standard weaves. 



DYEING AND PRINTING 253 



COMMON DYESTUFFS 

Natural dyes. — Let us now see what the common dye- 
stuffs are. As already suggested; dyes are usually classified 
as natural or artificial. Natural dyes include such vegetable 
colors as logwood, indigo, fustic, cutch, butternut, sumac, 
madder, brazilwood, quercitron, safilower, sapanwood, 
peachwood, camwood, Persian berries, turmeric, saffron, 
henna, cudbear, and litmus. Cochineal, an insect, yields 
another natural dyestuff. Several minerals are used, as, 
for example, Prussian blue, chrome yellow, and iron buff. 

The natural dyes are the oldest. The Bible has numer- 
ous references to colors and dyes; among them are de- 
scriptions of Joseph's coat of many colors, of the Tyrian 
purple, and other colors. All of these ancient color stuffs 
were natural; that is, they were extracted from plants, 
from animal substances, or from the earth. Oriental rugs 
were all dyed with vegetable dyes, some prepared by secret 
processes if we may believe the accounts of Oriental rug 
salesmen. Certainly some of the Eastern natural dyes were 
remarkable for brilliancy and for fastness under most of 
the conditions of ordinary use. 

Up to sixty years ago only the natural dyes were used. 
But to people of today the list of dyestuff s named above 
is little more than a list of names. Most of those color 
substances passed out of use in the time of our grand- 
mothers, and their places were taken one after another by 
artificial dyes, much cheaper, more easily applied, and, 
when properly selected and prepared, fully as fast as the 
natural dyes of old. Of the entire list only logwood is now 
used very considerably. 

Artificial dyes. — Artificial dyes had their beginning in 
1856, when an English chemist, H. W. Perkin, working 
with coal tar in his laboratory, accidentally discovered the 



254 TEXTILES 

first coal-tar color, a beautiful mauve. A little later, a 
French chemist discovered the way of getting magenta by 
means of the same substance, coal tar. This turned the 
attention of color chemists the world over towards the 
new source of dyestuffs. A great number of experiments 
were made. In the last fifty years several hundred colors 
have been produced. Gradually the principles by which 
coal-tar colors can be extracted were developed, until they 
are now so well understood that the color chemist can sit 
down and work out in formula almost any color or tint 
with almost any desired fastness. 

How Coal-tar Dyes Are Produced. — These colors, 
or aniline dyes, are derived from coal tar, a by-product 
from coal in the process of making coke. When coke is 
being made, it gives off a great deal of smoke and gas. 
which is all saved and reduced to the form of a liquor. 
This liquor is distilled, and the residue after the lighter 
oils are boiled ofif is coal tar. A like product is made from 
crude petroleum. Coal tar, as now known, is a very com- 
plex chemical substance, and a great variety of materials 
can be derived from it besides colors. From coal tar are 
made some of the most delicate artificial perfumes and 
flavors closely imitating, for example, wintergreen, violet, 
vanilla, and the fruits. From coal tar are made saccharine, 
a substance three hundred times as sweet as sugar, an 
artificial form of turpentine, substitutes for linseed oil, car- 
bolic acid, salicylic acid used as a food preservative, naph- 
thaline camphor, photographic developers such, as hydro- 
quinone and metol, creosote, vaseline, and a variety of 
lubricating oils. No one looking at the crude mass would 
ever guess its wonderful contents. Yet with coal tar as a 
raw material whole industries have sprung up within the 
last few years, among which the manufactories of textile 
dyes are probably the most important. Germany has led 
all the rest of the world in the manufacture of aniline dyes. 



DYEING AND PRINTING 255 

and it is due largely to the deep researches of German 
chemists that the great variety of colors and the excellent 
qualities of modern artificial dyes have been developed. 

Early Failures in the Use of Coal-tar Dyes. — Soon 
after their discovery it was found that the coal-tar dyes 
differ greatly in their affinity for the different textiles. 
Early carelessness on the part of manufacturers was the 
cause of the general dissatisfaction with coal-tar dyes in 
the nineties. Dyes utterly unsuitable were used indiscrimi- 
nately, with the easily foreseen result that many of them 
quickly faded. Coal-tar dyes are still suffering from the 
bad repute into which they came during these years, a 
reputation that it may take a generation of unfailingly good 
qualities to live down. 

Discovery of Direct Cotton Dyes. — The colors first 
discovered were suited only to dyeing wool. A little later 
colors were produced which could be used on cotton by 
means of mixing with some other chemical having a strong 
affinity for cotton. In 1884, however, a direct coal-tar 
cotton dye was discovered, the so-called Congo red. After 
1884, a whole fiood of colors appeared. In 1885 there 
appeared a coal-tar color which had all of the chemical 
elements and qualities of indigo. This artificial indigo has 
practically taken the place of the natural color. 

According to the chemical composition of these colors, 
they were grouped into various classes; for example, ani- 
line, alizarine, benzidine, azo, sulphur, etc. There are now 
more than twenty such sub-classes in the coal-tar colors, 
each class containing a great number of colors, but each 
differing in behavior as a dye substance. 

General classes of dyes. — Dyestuffs are now divided by 
dyers and chemists into the following large classes : 

1. Acid dyes. 

2. Basic dyes. 

3. Direct or substantive cotton dyes. 



256 TEXTILES 

4. Sulphur dyes. 

5. Mordant dye^. 

6. Vat dyes. 

7. Developing dyes. 

Other classes are sometimes given, such as the phthallic 
anhydride dyes, insoluble azo dyes, and some others, but 
the list given includes most dyes in common use. The 
names of these classes suggest something of the character 
of the dye or the method of application. 

Acid dyes. — The acid dyes are what the name indicates. 
The number of artificial dyes in this class is very great, all 
characterized by being easily soluble in water and easily 
applied to cloth. Since these dyes have only slight affinity 
for cotton, they are not much used on that textile. Not 
all of the acid dyes are equally good for wool; some are 
very fast, while others are fleeting. According to one 
authority in textile chemistry, over seventy-five per cent 
of the dyed wools in the market are colored with acid dyes. 
To some extent, also, these acid dyes are used for dyeing 
silk. 

Basic dyes. — Basic dyes differ from acid dyes in that 
they are basic in character and have the power of neutraliz- 
ing acids. Basic dyes are the oldest among the artificial 
dyes. These dyes work well with wool because there are 
in the wool fibers certain acid properties with which the 
basic dyes combine easily. The combination is not usually 
very fast, however; hence basic dyes are passing out of 
use and giving place to more stable coloring substances. 
The basic dyes have no effect on cotton until the cotton 
has been treated with tannic acid. The basic dyes com- 
bine well with the tannic-acid-cotton combination, and the 
resulting colors are both brilliant and fast to light, water, 
and soap. Used in this way, the dye is called a mordant 
dye. 

Direct dyes. — The direct or substantive cotton dyes origi- 



DYEING AND PRINTING 257 

nated with Congo red in 1884. The peculiarity about these 
dyes is their affinity for cotton as a direct dye. There are 
now more colors and varieties of dye in this class than in 
any other. Practically every color has been developed in 
this class. These colors constituted a great textile discov- 
ery, saving much time and trouble in dyeing cottons. All 
that is necessary with a direct or substantive dye is to dis- 
solve it in water, bring it to the temperature at which it 
works best, and then immerse the cotton cloth in the solu- 
tion for a short time. Before this invention, cotton dyes, 
both of the natural and artificial varieties, had to be applied 
indirectly or with a mordant, that is, through the medium^ 
of a third substance, such as tannic acid, that had an affin- 
ity both for cotton and the dye substance. The discovery 
of the direct dye cheapened the dye process greatly, and 
shortened it too, a very important consideration when cer- 
tain colors or patterns attain a seasonal vogue that cannot 
be foreseen and may be brief. The direct dyes vary greatly 
in fastness; many of them require that the dyed cloth be 
put through other solutions, such as copper sulphate or 
blue vitriol and water. Since 1902, however, a number of 
very fast direct dyes have been discovered and have largely 
supplanted all others for cotton goods. Direct dyes are 
also used on linen and, to a certain extent, on wool. The 
common household dyes that may be purchased in small 
packages, such as ''Diamond Dyes," are of this class. The 
large dye-producing concerns of Germany have given to 
their direct dyes distinctive names which are well known to 
all commercial dyers. The Leopold Cassela Color Company 
call their colors "diamine colors." The Farben Fabriken 
Company uses the terms "benzo," "chloramine," and 
"katigen." The Badische Anilin & Soda Fabrik dyes 
are known as "pyramine," "oxamine," and "indanthrene," 
the last-named a remarkably fast series of colors, but not 
properly belonging to the class of direct dyes. The Amer- 



258 TEXTILES 

ican Dyewood Company calls its dyes "tetrazo colors." The 
Berlin Anilin works denominate their dyes "Congo," "Co- 
lumbia," and "Chicago." Several other brands besides 
these are used, most of which are, like these, of German 
manufacture. 

Sulphur dyes. — The sulphur dyes contain sulphur in one 
form or another. Nearly all colors except reds have been 
produced in this chemical group. The sulphur blacks, 
blues, and browns are among the fastest produced. They 
are used only in cotton and other vegetable fabrics and are 
fast to light, washing, and acids, or perspiration. Sulphur 
colors are excellent for dyeing cotton hosiery and other 
knit goods in dark colors or blacks. Some of them require 
some after-treatment to fix them permanently in the fiber. 

Mordant dyes. — Mordant colors are sometimes called ad- 
jective colors, because they are not applied directly but 
always through the means of some other substance applied 
to the textile first. Some substance or chemical called a 
mordant, having a strong affinity for both the textile and 
the coloring matter, is first applied. When the color is 
added, the result is a combination that may be expressed 
in the following manner: Textile -)- mordant -[- adjective 
dye = colored textile. The mordant clinging to the textile 
forms a combination with the dyestuff that dyers call a 
"color lake," a substance not soluble in water; hence it re- 
mains fast in the textile. Mordant dyes are the fastest 
known. They include most of the natural dyestuffs, such 
as logwood, cochineal, catechu, fustic (but not indigo), 
and a great number of artificial dyes. Uniforms for armies, 
navies, railroad companies, and large corporations are fre- 
quently finished with dyes of this class by contract specifica- 
tion. Very fast wool colors are obtained by means of 
mordants. Turkey red is an example of a cotton mordant 
dye. 

The mordant substances include such acids as tannic 








CLPTH 



Standard weaves. 



DYEING AND PRINTING 259 

acid, sumac, gall nuts, bark extracts, oleic and stearic acids, 
and Turkey red oil; and metallic substances such as vari- 
ous combinations or soluble salts of chromium, aluminum, 
iron, copper, and tin. The latter, the metallic mordants, 
are more used than the acid mordants. 

Each mordant produces a different effect with each color. 
In general, tin produces the brightest colors and is there- 
fore much used in fancy dress fabrics, in cotton, wool, or 
silk. Iron produces the fastest colors, but they are gen- 
erally dark, as, for example, logwood blacks. Chromium 
is used extensively, especially for dark wool shades. The 
copper mordant also produces a fast dye. 

Vat dyes. — Vat dyes include the natural dyestuff, indigo, 
and the artificial dyes called by the trade names, indan- 
threne, and flavanthrene. They are called vat dyes because, 
being originally insoluble in water, they undergo special 
preparation in large vats before the cloth is introduced; 
here they are made soluble, usually by the adding of caustic 
soda and hyposulphite. In this mixture or dye liquor the 
textiles are soaked. Certain chemicals are thereafter added, 
changing the dyestuff back to the insoluble form in the 
cloth or fiber. This is called the fixing process. All the vat 
dyes are fast, especially to washing. The artificial vat dyes 
have in many instances taken the places of the older 
mordant dyes, and their future seems promising, for they 
are cheaper and easier to apply than the mordants, although 
not so cheap and convenient as the direct dyes. 

Developing dyes. — Developing dyes are color substances 
which, although they have some affinity for textiles, are not 
brought out in full hue until a developing process has been 
applied. One of the commonest developing agents is ice, 
or ice water. One of the best developing dyes is known as 
aniline black. It is one of the fastest and most beautiful. 
Sulphur blacks being cheaper have, however, taken the 
place of aniline black for most uses. Certain other chem- 



26o TEXTILES 

icals are sometimes used as developing agents, but this 
group of dyes is not important and therefore requires no 
extended treatment here. 



METHODS OF APPLYING DYES 

Textiles are dyed in the form of the loose textile fiber, 
in the yarn, or in the woven fabric or piece. The products 
are known as fiber dyed, yarn dyed, and piece dyed, respec- 
tively. Most goods are either yarn or piece dyed. But for 
certain purposes it seems that dyeing the loose cotton or 
wool is the preferable method. Each method has special 
machinery designed for it, such as vats, kettles, and driers, 
but in principle the process is the same, depending wholly 
upon the kind of textile and the kind of dye. 

The dye process. — The first step in any case is the thor- 
ough cleansing of the material by boiling and washing with 
caustic soda or hot soapsuds. This removes the dirt that 
may be found in the fiber. Often woven goods are bleached 
at this point, especially if they are to be dyed with light 
colors or tints. 

In applying the mordant dyes to cotton fabrics, the next 
step is soaking the cloth in the mordant vats or kettles un- 
til the fabric is properly saturated. The cloth is then dried 
and hung up for two or three days in a moist air chamber. 
This is called the "aging" process, by means of which the 
mordants are firmly imbedded in the fiber. Next the fabric 
is passed through vats containing cow dung and chalk — 
the "dunging" process. After the cloth has soaked in these 
vats for an hour or two, it is raised, dried, and generally 
"dunged" a second time. The mordant is now firmly fixed. 
Substitutes for cow dung have been tried and are now 
widely used in the cotton-dyeing industry; none, however, 
gives more satisfactory results than the old-fashioned Eng- 



DYEING AND PRINTING 



261 



lish dunging process. After the dunging the cloth is thor- 
oughly washed and transferred to the dye vats. After the 
dye proper is absorbed by the fabric for such time as may 
be necessary to make the particular color wanted, the cloth 
is taken out, washed thoroughly, run through soapsuds, and 
washed again. To remove any foreign stains, the last 
washings may contain a little bleaching powder, but not 




Diagram of Continuous Dye Process 

Piece goods from the looms or bleacheries. 

Boiling off or washing process. 

Rinsing box, cloth passed through running water. 

Dye bath, direct dye application. 

Rinsing box, cloth run through clean water. 

Drying process. 

Piece goods ready for finishing process. 



enough to harm the dye itself. The cloths are then dried 
and made ready for the finishing processes. 

Continuous Dye Process. — The process of applying the 
direct dyes is naturally simpler. After the goods are 
washed and bleached, they are -run directly into the dye 
liquor vats or baths, and by means of rollers kept in con- 
tinuous motion through the dye liquor until properly dyed. 
The cloth then passes into a rinsing box, and the dye proc- 
ess is completed. 

Printing. — There is another method of applying color to 
textiles, particularly to cloth, that is much used. This 
method is printing. The cloth is run through a printing 
machine supplied with rollers, one for each color to be 
printed on the fabric. These rollers are engraved with the 
designs desired on the cloth, and the cloth passing through 
them receives the impression of the engraved design in the 



263 ■ TEXTILES 

proper color or dye. The engraved rollers receive their 
coloring matter from troughs below or from regular inking 
rollers similar to those used in printing offices. 

After the cloth has received the printed color impres- 
sions, it is passed on into a drying room; the dyes here 
become fixed in the fabric. This is followed by steaming, 
dunging, washing, soaping, and light bleaching, much the 
same as in the regular mordant dye process. 

Printing Colors. — The dye materials used in printing 
are largely the same as those used in regular dyeing, ex- 
cept that they are applied in printing in the form of a 
thick paste instead of in the form of a liquid. Various 
substances such as starch, dextrin, tragacanth, and gum 
arable are used as thickeners. In the case of the mordant 
dyes, both mordant and dyestuff are sometimes imprinted 
at the same time, but the results are usually less satisfactory 
than when they are separately applied. In some cases the 
mordant is applied in vats to the whole cloth as if it were 
all to be dyed, although the actual printing colors only the 
portion covered by the design. 

Styles of Printing. — There are, then, as many methods 
of printing, "styles" of printing as they are called, as there 
are classes of dyes commonly used. Direct printing utilizes 
the direct dyes. The combined dyeing and printing method 
utilizes the mordant dyes. In addition to these styles, there 
are also what are known as the '"discharge," the "resist" or 
"reserve," and the "topping" printing methods. 

Discharge style. — The discharge style of printing consists 
in printing chemicals upon dyed fabrics in designs, the 
chemicals causing the dye to come out wherever applied, 
leaving the designs either white or in a different color from 
that of the dyed ground. 

Resist style. — The resist or reserve style of printing ob- 
tains white figures on a colored ground by means of printing, 
before dyeing, with substances that are impervious to the 



DYEING AND PRINTING 263 

dye liquids. When these substances are thoroughly dried 
into the cloth, the cloth is dyed, but all portions covered 
with the resist paste or substances remain white. Countless 
variations are possible through the means of these different 
styles of printing and dyeing and through the use of vari- 
ous chemicals, printing pastes, dyes, and mordants. 

Topping. — Topping printing is simply reprinting a fabric 
a second time after the colors from the first printing process 
have been fixed and dried. The first or ground colors ap- 
plied are usually light in tint, while the topping colors are 
heavy, dark, or brilliant according to the demands of the 
dyer. 

Uses of Printing. — The printing process is used most 
extensively in coloring cotton fabrics. Cotton prints such 
as calicoes occupy an important place in the textile world. 
Wool and silk are also sometimes printed. In silks espe- 
cially many beautiful patterns are obtained by means of 
printing. Yarns are sometimes printed before they are 
woven, particularly the warp. This gives the effect of an 
indistinct design in the finished fabric. The fiber is also 
printed sometimes before it is made into yarn, while in the 
combed sliver stage in worsted manufacturing. Printing on 
combed sliver is called "vigoureux printing." 

Factors affecting^ success of dyeing. — Several factors af- 
fect the success of the dyeing industry. The necessity for 
technical and chemical knowledge has already been empha- 
sized. But there are also certain requirements as to en- 
vironment, such as pure water, air free from factory smoke, 
blast-furnace smoke, or sulphur fumes, and so on. 

Pure Water. — The importance of pure water is very 
great, since any lurking chemical dissolved in the water — 
lime, for instance — would upset all of the chemist's calcula- 
tions, would cause the same dyestuffs to give different re- 
sults or fast dyes to become fleeting, and, in some cases, 
would prevent absorption of the dye at all. Hence dye- 



264 TEXTILES 

houses are usually located in regions where the water is 
very pure and soft, and, besides this, pains are taken still 
further to purify the water by removing any lime, sulphur, 
iron, or other minute mineral matters which may be found 
dissolved therein. It is noteworthy that much home dyeing 
fails, even when the dye recipes are closely followed, simply 
because of some chemical impurity in the water used to 
dissolve the dye substance. 

Differences in Fibers. — Another thing the dyer must 
consider is the particular variety of cotton, of wool, or of 
silk that he is to color. No two varieties absorb the colors 
in the same way or to the same extent. For example, India 
cottons take a deeper shade, under the same conditions, than 
American cottons. A stronger solution, or a longer soak- 
ing, is necessary for the American cottons than for the 
India cottons. In addition, there are minor differences in 
the fibers from different localities, perhaps because of dif- 
ferences in soil, rainfall, temperature, and care received 
during the growing season. Similar differences are also to 
be noted in wool and silk, especially in the latter. Silk 
dyers in Europe always desire to know the source of the 
silk before they prepare to dye it. 



CHAPTER XXII 

CLOTH FINISHING 

Importance of cloth finishing^. — Cloth finishing is one of 
the chief arts in the textile industry. The appearance of 
the goods is often of first concern, and the appearance of 
any fabric is largely due to the methods of finishing. 

BLEACHING 

Bleaching is one of the most usual and important among 
the finishing processes. It has for its object the whitening 
or decolorizing of the textile fiber to which it is applied. 
Fibers, as they come from the plant, from the back of the 
sheep, or from the cocoon, are usually somewhat colored 
or stained. Some of them, like tussah silk or Egyptian 
cotton, are highly colored. This natural coloring of the 
fiber may be undesirable in many fabrics; hence, bleaching 
is employed to clear the fiber of this color. Again, most 
fibers accumulate stains of various kinds during the early 
processes of manufacture as, for example, in the spinning 
and weaving. This discoloration cannot be entirely re- 
moved by simple washing; hence, the bleaching process is 
applied to clear the fabric. In like manner, when the cali- 
coes or other prints come from the printers, the white 
background between the colored figures may be soiled, 
spotted, or otherwise discolored; again, a light bleach is 
applied, but not enough appreciably to injure the color in 
the figures. 

265 



266 TEXTILES 

Bleaching agents. — There are two classes of bleaching 
substances, oxygen and sulphurous acid. Under certain 
conditions oxygen destroys the coloring matters entirely. 
Sulphurous acid probably does no more than change the 
color to white, leaving the coloring substances still in the 
textile. An object once bleached white by oxygen is not 
likely to turn yellow or to change back to its original color ; 
whereas textiles bleached in sulphurous acid quite fre- 
quently do change back again after a time, especially when 
in contact with certain chemicals such as alkalies or soaps. 

Grassing. — The oldest bleaching method is that of "grass- 
ing," still used to a certain extent in Europe for bleaching 
linens. The linen fabrics are laid on the grass or ground 
for weeks. The oxygen of the air and that given off by 
green plants slowly attacks and destroys the little yellow 
color particles in the flax fiber. Slowly the linen becomes 
whiter and whiter until finally it is fully bleached. The 
particular value of the grass bleach over all others is its 
slowness. This guarantees permanence. Furthermore, the 
"grassing" process is not likely to be carried on a bit fur- 
ther than necessary. The oxygen which attacks the color- 
ing matter may ultimately attack the cellulose in the fiber 
and does do so in chemical bleacheries unless the fabric is 
removed at the proper time. A few moments' delay, there- 
fore, in a chemical bleachery means great damage to the 
cloth ; whereas a few days either one way or the other in 
grass bleaching makes practically no difference. Cotton also 
was at one time bleached in this manner, but the more rapid 
chemical oxygen bleachers have entirely superseded grass 
bleaching for this textile. 

Chemical bleaching. — The principal chemicals used in 
oxygen bleaching are chloride of lime, hydrogen peroxide, 
sodium peroxide, and potassium permanganate. All these 
substances are heavily charged with oxygen. In the bleach- 
ing process, this oxygen is set free, and this free oxygen 



CLOTH FINISHING 267 

attacks the coloring matters in unbleached goods. The 
bleaching powder of commerce is chloride of lime, the prin- 
cipal bleaching substance used for cotton and for all other 
vegetable fibers excepting jute. It is, however, entirely un- 
suitable for wool and silk. Hydrogen peroxide is the best 
bleaching substance of all. It may be used on any sort of 
fiber, for it attacks nothing but the coloring matter. It is 
frequently used in removing stains and also in bleaching 
hair. But for general textile bleaching purposes it is too 
expensive, and is hard to keep in concentrated form for 
even a short time. It is used extensively, however, in 
bleaching wool mousselines that are to be printed. Hydro- 
gen peroxide produces a much better result than sulphurous 
acid, the common bleaching substance for wool. When 
cheaper means of producing peroxide are discovered, this 
chemical is bound to take front rank among the bleaching 
agents. Potassium permanganate is another oxygen-loaded 
chemical that is sometimes used in bleaching woolens. 
Sodium peroxide is a compound somewhat cheaper to pro- 
duce than hydrogen peroxide, and contains a large amount 
of live, active oxygen. It is a rather new bleaching agent, 
but is already used to a certain extent on wool and silk, 
especially tussah silk. 

Sulphur bleach. — Sulphurous acid bleach is applied in the 
'form of either a gas or a liquid. The gas is produced by 
burning sulphur in the air. The fumes that arise from 
burning sulphur are sulphurous acid gas. The liquid is 
produced by saturating water with this gas. Sulphur bleach 
is used mainly for animal fibers (wool and silk) and jute. 
The most common method employs the gas rather than the 
liquid. Rooms called sulphur chambers are built out of 
brick especially for this purpose. The fabric or yarn is 
brought into this chamber and hung up damp in loose folds 
while sulphur is burned in pots on the floor. The rising 
fumes saturate the damp textiles, the dampness materially 



268 TEXTILES 

assisting, and the fibers gradually whiten. In large wool 
bleacheries the cloth is run through the sulphur chamber 
on rollers, bleaching on the way. The process is inexpen- 
sive and results in a beautiful white. Its tendency to make 
wool harsh is corrected by washing in soap and water. 
When the wool is mixed with cotton there is danger of the 
cotton's being destroyed by the acid. The sulphur bleach 
is ordinarily used for wool and silk. 

Chloride of lime. — In cotton bleaching, chloride of lime 
is the most common chemical used. Cotton is generally 
bleached in the piece or fabric form. The usual exceptions 
are sewing cotton, absorbent cotton, and jeweler's cotton. 
The last two are bleached in the state of loose fibers. When 
the cotton comes from the looms it is still in the natural 
color, although somewhat altered by the sizing in the warp 
and by the dirt, grease, and dust accumulated in the ma- 
chinery. The cloth is now said to be "in the gray." It is, 
however, more of a dirty yellow than gray, and presents 
a soft, flabby, fuzzy, unattractive appearance. It is now 
ready for the bleaching process. 

The bleaching process. — The cloth is first run through 
a washing machine to remove as much of the discoloration 
and dirt as possible. Next, most fabrics are either sheared 
or singed; that is, they are run through machines which 
either cut off or burn off the fuzziness that is always found 
on cloth direct from the loom. The shearing process is 
performed by a machine that works on the same principle 
as a lawn mower, cutting all loose ends and fibers very close 
to the body of the cloth. The singeing is done by very 
quickly passing the cloth over a line of gas jets, or over a 
red-hot plate, where the heat burns off the fuzz but has no 
time to burn the fabric itself. Recently, singeing has been 
successfully performed by electricity. Cloth is sometimes 
singed on both sides, sometimes on only one. The shearing 
and singeing processes leave the cloth apparently smooth. 



CLOTH FINISHING 269 

As a rule, cotton cloths are then bleached. There are 
four common methods, or "bleachers" as they are called : 
"madder bleach," "Turkey red bleach," "market bleach," 
and "rapid bleach." Of these the madder bleach is the most 
thorough. The others differ from the madder bleach 
mainly in degree of thoroughness. Goods to be dyed in 
deep colors need less whitening; hence, they are given, for 
example, the Turkey red bleach. Goods to be dyed black' 
need almost no bleaching ; for these the rapid bleach is suffi- 
cient. The market bleach is really the rapid bleach with 
the addition of blueing and other substances to cover up 
defects in the process. 

The bleaching industry. — Cotton bleaching is often con- 
ducted as a separate industry. In England this is quite the 
rule. The cloth is sent from the weaving concerns to the 
bleacheries to be bleached on commission or at so much a 
yard. Sometimes the products of the loom are purchased 
by converters who hire others to do all the finishing proc- 
esses, including bleaching. Occasionally bleachers buy the 
cloth in the gray, bleach it, and again market it. In this 
country bleaching and dyeing works are usually associated, 
and both are frequently under the same management as the 
cotton mills. This joining together or integration of related 
industries is typical of American business organization, not 
only in the textile industries, but also in many other great 
businesses, such as steel production and meat packing. 

How the bleacheries handle cotton goods. — Piece goods 
arrive at the bleacheries in bolts or rolls of an average 
length of fifty yards. Each of these is stamped with the 
owner's name, the length of the bolt, and other necessary 
particulars. The ends of several hundred rolls are first 
stitched together to form one long sheet sometimes as much 
as twenty-five miles long. 

Moistening and bowking. — When all is ready, the cloth 
is moistened, run through a six- to eight-inch ring to rumple 



270 TEXTILES 

it and form it into the shape of a rope, and in this form it 
is laid away in coils for several hours in bins to soften the 
sizing in the warp. Next, the cloth is turned into a covered 
tank called a kier, in which is a weak solution of caustic 
soda or milk of lime. The liquid is kept moving through 
the tank by means of pumps. Here the cloth is stirred for 
about eight or ten hours, a process which removes all fats 
and wax found in the cloth, such, for example, as the natu- 
ral wax found around the cotton fibers. All of this must be 
thoroughly removed before bleaching if the cloth is to be 
made snow white. The mixture in the "kier" is called the 
*'lime boil," and this particular part of the process is called 
''bowking." The process concludes with a thorough wash- 
ing in pure, fresh water. 

Brown sour. — The next step, known variously as the 
"brown sour," "gray sour," or "lime sour," follows the 
washing. The cloth is passed into tanks of water contain- 
ing sulphuric or hydrochloric acid, sometimes both. This 
souring process counteracts the action of any caustic soda 
or lime that may remain in the cotton fiber from the 
previous treatment. Here a knowledge of the chemistry 
of bleaching is absolutely essential. The proportion of acid 
in the "brown sour" must be just sufficient to destroy the 
alkali in the fiber. H not strong enough, the alkali will 
not all be destroyed and will continue to cause trouble 
throughout the entire life of the cloth. If too much acid 
is used, then not only will the alkali be destroyed, but the 
cotton fiber will be endangered as well. Much of the poor 
cotton cloth in the market owes its lack of strength to poor 
bleaching methods. Linen is more sensitive to these chem- 
ical changes than cotton ; hence the difficulty of getting 
good chemically bleached linens. The acid or souring bath 
is followed by a washing in pure water. 

Lye hail.— In the full madder bleach the cloth after the 
acid bath is usually passed into a second alkali bath con- 



CLOTH FINISHING 



271 



taining hot lye and resin soap. This is called the "lye boil." 
After three hours of boiling under pressure, with the alkali 
liquor forced through every part of the cloth by means of 
pumps, all of the fats and acids in the fiber have been ex- 
tracted and changed into soapsuds. The invariable washing 
in pure water follows. 

Chemicking.— The cloth is now ready to be transferred 
into the real bleaching bath, the chloride of lime solution, 
or "chemick," as bleachers name it. Through this bath the 
cloth is passed back and forth, the liquid being forced 




MOISTENED 

AND RUMPLED 

INTO FORM 

OF ROPE 


- 


SOFTENING 

IN 

STORAGE BINS 


- 


BOWKING 
KIERS 




WASHING 




GRAY SOUR 
SOAKING 




BLEACHING 
BINS 


- 


"CHEMICK" 


- 


WASHING 




LYE BOIL 




WASHING 




WASHING — 



WHITE SOUR 
SOAKING 



TENTERING 

OR |— I DRYING 

STRETCHING 



BLEACHED 



Diagram of Processes in the Full Madder Bleach. 



CLOTH 



through every part of it. After one or two hours this part 
of the process is completed. The cloth is removed and 
passed between heavy wooden rollers, which press out the 
excess of the chloride of lime solution. The cloth is then 
coiled or piled in bins so as to be exposed to the air. It is 
here that the real bleaching takes place. The chloride of 
lime absorbed in the fiber has a strong affinity for air and 
for water. Both are attracted, and in the chemical proc- 
esses that follow a certain amount of oxygen is crowded 
out of the air and water, and this free, active oxygen 
attacks the coloring matters and destroys them. Now again 
the proportions must be scrupulously adjusted so that not 
too much or too little oxygen is produced. Too much 



2^2 TEXTILES 

would result in an oxidation or destruction not only of the 
color particles, but also of the cotton fiber itself. 

White souring. — The chemicking or bleaching is followed 
by washing in pure water and afterward by treatment in a 
weak acid bath known as the "white sour." In this bath 
all action of the chloride of lime is stopped. Then follows 
another most careful washing in water to remove every 
particle of acid, whereupon the bleaching process is ended. 
The cloth is opened up flat, spread out, beaten, stretched 
or tentered, and dried over hot rollers. It is now ready for 
dyeing, for printing, for mercerizing, or, if to remain in 
the white, for the final finishing processes of sizing and 
calendering. Dyeing, printing, and mercerizing have al- 
ready been described; hence, we need only give our atten- 
tion to the final finishing processes. 



CLOTH DRESSING 

Whether the cloth shall be made soft or stiff, dull or 
glossy, and so on, depends upon the finish applied and the 
materials used. Certain sizings fill up the spaces between 
the threads in the fabric, stiffen the fabric, and give it 
greater weight and body. Other sizing materials give stiff- 
ness without adding weight. Some give weight without 
stiffness. Some help to make the fabric glossy, others to 
give the cloth some special appearance in imitation of a 
different fiber. It would take a volume to give in detail 
an account of how these various effects are obtained. Such 
a description is not necessary here. A fair idea of the 
possibilities of cloth finishing can be obtained by a study of 
fabrics themselves, especially with the help of a small mag- 
nifying glass and with such tests as boiling and rubbing. 

Dressing materials. — The materials used in cotton finish- 
ing or dressing Jnclude starches, glue, fats, casein, gelatin, 



CLOTH FINISHING 273 

gluten, minerals, and antiseptic substances. The starches 
give stiffness and weight ; glue gives tenacity to the starches 
and other materials. Minerals, such as clay, are used to 
give weight. Fats give the qualities of softness and help 
make the fabric more elastic. Wax, stearin, and parafiQn 
are frequently used to develop a high luster in the calen- 
dering or pressing processes. Antiseptic substances such as 
zinc chloride, salicylic acid, and zinc sulphate are added to 
prevent the starches and fats used in the dressing from 
molding or putrefying. 

Starches. — The starchy substances commonly used in- 
clude wheat flour, wheat starch, potato starch, rice starch, 
and cornstarch. Sometimes the starch is baked until brown 
before using. In this form it is called dextrin or British 
gum. Dextrin gives a softer dressing than any other 
starchy material. Wheat and corn starches produce the 
stiffest effects. Potato starch comes between the two ex- 
tremes. Starch is sometimes treated for a couple of hours 
with caustic soda at about the freezing point. At the end 
of this time the excess of alkali is neutralized with acid. 
The result is a gum, called apparatine, which stiffens the 
cloth and does not wash out so easily as most other stiffen- 
ing substances. Starch treated with acid produces glucose, 
and this is used largely as a weighting or loading ma- 
terial. 

Fats. — Among the fats used are tallow, stearin, several 
different kinds of oils and waxes, and paraffin. These are 
sometimes added to the starches to reduce the stiffness of 
the fabrics. Glycerin and magnesium chloride are fre- 
quently added for the same reason. Fats may be added to 
waterproof the cloth, although waterproofing is usually 
accomplished by rubberizing; that is, by soaking the cloth 
in a solution of crude rubber or caoutchouc. 

Minerals. — The minerals are added for various reasons. 
China clay increases the weight as do also salts of lime and 



274 TEXTILES 

baryta. Alum, acetate of lead, and sulphate of lead are 
sometimes used. Adding large proportions of borax, am- 
monium phosphate, salts of magnesia, and sodium tungstate 
makes the fabric fireproof. 

How the dressing is applied. — The dressing material is 
usually applied as a liquid paste to the back of the cloth 
and then run over hot rolls or cylinders in order to dry the 
paste quickly. Sometimes it is applied lightly to the sur- 
face, sometimes it is pressed in deeply by means of rollers. 
When both sides are dressed, the fabric is passed into and 
through the dressing material. When the cloth is dry, the 
sizing or dressing process is complete. If merely a dull, 
hard finish is desired, nothing further is necessary except 
to stretch and smooth out the cloth, measure, bolt, and 
press it. But if any kind of polish is demanded, then the 
cloth must be calendered, pressed, mangled, or ironed. 



CALENDERING 

Calendering is accomplished by passing the cloth between 
large rolls, from two to six, under heavy pressure. In the 
rolls the dressing is smoothed out, and the hard, dull finish 
becomes soft and glossy in appearance. Heated rolls give 
a better gloss. When the rolls are made to turn over each 
other at different rates, there is a heavy friction or ironing 
effect on the cloth. For the highest glosses not only starch 
but also fats and waxes are used, and all are ironed into the 
cloth under heavy pressure and at as great heat as the cloth 
will stand. When calendered the fabrics are usually damp- 
ened first, just as clothes are dampened by the housewife 
before she irons them. The dampening in a cloth-finishing 
plant is done by a special machine that sprays the cloth 
very evenly as it passes through. 

The beetle finish. — There are several special finishes pos- 



CLOTH FINISHING 275 

sible through variations in the calendering process. Beetling 
is one of these methods. The cloth is passed into a ma- 
chine over wooden rollers and beaten by wooden hammers 
operated by the machine. The beetle finish gives to cotton 
or linen an appearance almost like satin and is very beauti- 
ful. 

Watered effects. — Moire or watered effects are produced 
by pressing some parts of the threads in a fabric down flat 
while leaving the other parts of the threads in their natural 
or round condition. The effect is usually that of an in- 
distinct pattern. It is obtained in different ways, some- 
times by running the cloth through the calender double, 
or again by running the single fabric between rollers espe- 
cially engraved with moire designs. Only soft fabrics are 
suited to this finish; hence, no dressing except fats is used 
for moire goods. 

Embossing. — Soft fabrics are sometimes stamped with 
patterns in the manner of embossing by means of engraved 
calender rolls. This process is called stamping. 

Schreiner finish. — Another special finish, known as 
"Schreiner finish," is applied in the calendering operation 
by passing the cloth between rolls covered with great num- 
bers of finely engraved lines. The number often runs as 
high as six hundred to the inch. Under a pressure of 4,500 
pounds these lines are pressed into the fabric. The result 
is that the round threads are pressed flat, but the lines 
break up the flat surfaces into little planes that reflect the 
light much better than an ordinary flat surface would. This 
peculiar light reflection gives the cloth the quality of a very 
high luster. Heating the rolls makes this luster more last- 
ing. The effect is very beautiful. Mercerized cotton fin- 
ished in the Schreiner finish rivals silk in appearance. 

Most of the finishes spoken of so far, the result of 
dressing and calendering, are easily destroyed. Wear de- 
stroys any of them in time. Washing destroys most of 



276 TEXTILES 

them. But as long as they last they are highly important 
elements in the appearance of the fabrics. 



OTHER FINISHING PROCESSES 

Dressings applied to the various textiles. — Dressings 
are usually applied in much greater quantity to cotton than 
to any other textile. Linen comes second, and the principal 
dressing substance used in linens is starch. Glue, gelatin, 
dextrin, albumen, and water glass are applied under certain 
conditions and for certain effects in woolen goods. The 
common weighting materials added to woolens are short 
hairs or short wool fibers, sometimes called flocks. Flocks 
are the ends of fibers sheared off from the surface of wool 
or worsted cloth. Woolen cloths are padded or impreg- 
nated with these in the fulling mills, sometimes adding 
from one-fourth to three-fourths to the weight of the 
wool. Such finishing processes as beetling, mangling, moi- 
reing, and stamping are never applied to woolens. Silk 
usually has very little dressing applied to it in the finishing 
process, and that little generally consists of gelatin, gum 
arabic, or tragacanth. The other finishing processes are 
very much the same for silk as they are for cotton. 

Lisle finish. — Several other finishes, or modifications of 
the finishes just described, are used in cotton goods when 
it is desired to show special effects. The lisle finish is given 
yarns that are to be used in the manufacture of hosiery 
and underwear. The true lisle finish is obtained by using 
combed, long-stapled, sea-island or Egyptian cotton. The 
yarns made from these fibers are rapidly but repeatedly run 
through gas flames until they are entirely free from any 
projecting fiber ends or fuzz. The result is a very smooth, 
glossy thread. Another kind of lisle finish is obtainable in a 
finished fabric, as, for example, in hosiery, by treating with 



CLOTH FINISHING 2.^7 

a weak solution of sulphuric or hydrochloric acid and then 
drying before washing out the acid. The goods are after- 
ward tumbled around in a machine that exposes them to 
the air and heats them to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 
After a time the loose ends and fuzzy fibers become brittle 
and break off in the tumbling given the goods. When the 
goods present the proper lisle finish, they are cooled off 
and washed in an alkaline bath which stops the action of 
the dry acid and neutralizes it. After thorough washing 
in clean water, they are dried and are ready for dyeing or 
any other finishing process. Sometimes the acids are added 
to the dye bath to cause more speedily the same effect in 
the appearance of the goods. Some dyes are regularly 
made up with the acid mixture. 

Wool finishing. — The finishing processes for woolens and 
worsteds are much more laborious and complex than those 
employed for cottons. A greater variety of machinery is 
required, and there are more steps in the process. The" 
finishing of wool goods is divided into two main parts : the 
first is called the "wet finishing," which includes washing, 
soaping, steaming, carbonizing, and the use of liquids; the 
second is called "dry finishing" and includes napping, shear- 
ing, polishing, measuring, and putting up in rolls or bolts. 

Preparation of wool fabrics. — ^Woolen or worsted cloth, 
as it comes from the weave rooms to the finishers, is first 
inspected for flaws, broken threads, and weak places, and 
wherever these are found, chalk marks are made to assist 
the burlers and menders in finding the places. To aid in 
the inspection, the cloth is generally "perched" or thrown 
over a roller and drawn down in single thickness by the 
inspector as fast as he can look it over. A good light is 
desirable. Inspectors with practice attain great proficiency 
in finding weak places or imperfections in the cloth. After 
the bad spots in the fabric are repaired the goods are tacked 
together; that is, the pieces are fastened together in pairs 



278 TEXTILES 

with the faces of the cloth turned towards each other. The 
tacking is simply a stitching along the edge, done either 
by hand or machine. The purpose of tacking is to pro- 
tect the faces of the cloth from becoming damaged in 
any way by the heavy operations to follow or from becom- 
ing impregnated with any foreign substance difficult to 
remove, such as short hairs or flocks. 

Fulling. — The next step is the fulling. All kinds of clear- 
finished worsted dress goods for ladies and practically all 
wool cloths for men's wear except worsteds are fulled. 
This is the most characteristic process in the wool industry ; 
no other textile goes through any process like it. The wool 
fibers, it will be recalled, are jointed and have scales that 
cause the fibers to cling together readily. This, we. have 
learned, is called the felting quality. By beating a mass of 
wool fibers, a very hard, compact mass can be obtained, 
because the fibers creep into closer and closer contact with 
each other, holding fast because of the scales. Fulling 
makes use of this principle. Wool cloth is shrunken and 
made heavier and closer in structure and consequently 
stronger. Fulled cloth may also take many more kinds of 
finish than unfulled fabrics. The fulling process is per- 
formed in machines that apply pressure, moisture, and 
heat to the goods. The cloths are soaked in hot, soapy 
water, pressed, rolled, and tumbled ; as a result, the woolen 
fabrics contract and become closer in texture throughout. 

Flocking. — Short wool fibers or flocks are frequently 
felted into wool fabrics in the fulling operation. A layer 
of these short fibers is spread over the back of the cloth 
and matted down by moistening. In the fulling operation 
these fibers sink into the fabric and therefore help to give 
the fabric weight and closeness. That this process is not 
always well done is evidenced by the fact that the flocks 
in the backs of suitings often wear loose, drop down, and 
collect at the bottom of garments, especially at points 



CLOTH FINISHING 279 

where the lining and the suiting are sewed together. Flocks 
must from most standpoints be considered as an adultera- 
tion of wool although their presence really helps some 
fabrics, such as kerseys. All crevices are filled up and the 
fabric is made solid. If the felting has been done well, 
the flocks perform a good service in the cloth, but other- 
wise the flocks come out easily and are a decided nuisance 
to the wearer of the goods. Flocks made from wool waste 
such as shoddy, mungo, and extract, when applied on 
shoddy wool cloth are bound to come out. But flocks cut 
from new wool, when applied to new wool cloth, produce 
an excellent effect if not too largely used. Adding 25 per 
cent in weight to the cloth by flocking is not unreasonable, 
but doubling the weight of the original fabric would be 
unjustifiable adulteration. Flocking adds little if any to 
the strength of the cloth. 

Speck dyeing. -^-Aiter fulling, the cloth is washed very 
carefully, and is usually given a light dye to cover up spots 
or imperfections due to foreign matter that could not be 
taken out before. If not so dyed, all the little specks in 
the cloth have to be removed by hand, a process called speck 
dyeing or burr dyeing. 

Carbonising. — Carbonizing is usually performed before 
the wool is spun into yarn, but in some cases not until the 
cloth is woven. In this case it takes the place of speck 
dyeing. The process is the same for cloth as for loose 
wool. The vegetable matter is destroyed by soaking the 
cloth in weak acids and then heating in an oven. 

Napping. — After washing, stretching, and drying, most 
goods are ready to receive the finish. In most cases this 
first involves raising a nap or fuzz evenly all over the sur- 
face, and for this purpose machines have been invented. 
The oldest of such machines use teasel or thistle burrs, 
whereas the later napping machines use little wire hooks. 
Some claim that the teasel burr has certain qualities for 



28o TEXTILES 

raising the wool nap that cannot be produced in any steel 
wire or spring hook or barb. The principle, however, is 
the same in all inventions for this purpose. The gigs or 
napping machines all stretch the cloth and then cause it to 
pass over many fine little hooks of teasel burrs or of steel 
wire which draw out a multitude of little ends of wool 
fiber all over the surface of the cloth. In some cases, the 
napping or gigging is performed on wet cloth; in others, 
the cloth is dry. Dry napping is in fact now the more com- 
mon, although the wet methods are still employed for cer- 
tain cloths and finishes. 

The finish of wool cloth depends upon the degree of nap- 
ping and upon the variety of fiber. Meltons require only a 
little napping; kerseys, beavers, and doeskins, a very thor- 
ough one. Cloths that must wear exceedingly well must be 
napped as little as possible, since the process reduces the 
strength of the fabric. Cassimeres are given several kinds 
of finish. Saxony finish, for example, of velour finish. Other 
fabrics are each given their characteristic finish by slightly 
varying the amount of nap, or the treatment of the nap 
after it has been raised. Among such fabrics are cheviots, 
kerseys, meltons, beavers, chinchillas, outing flannels, doe- 
skins, reversibles, thibets, satinets, blankets, and others. 

Lustering. — After napping, such fabrics as kerseys, beav- 
ers, broadcloths, thibets, Venetians, tricots, plushes, uniform 
cloths, and all worsteds, require another special operation 
known as steam lustering. Steam is forced through the 
cloth for about five minutes, followed by cold water. The 
steam brings out the luster which the cold water sets or 
fixes. 

Stretching and clipping. — The dry finishing processes be- 
gin with stretching (or tentering) and then drying the cloth. 
Special machines accomplish this as well as all the other 
processes. The cloth now passes through a shearing ma- 
chine which brushes the nap in the direction desired, after- 



CLOTH FINISHING 281 

ward clipping it evenly over all the surfaces. The clippers 
operate like the revolving blades of a lawn mower. Goods 
that have not been napped are generally singed in much 
the same manner as cotton fabrics. Next, the sheared 
fabrics are brushed, and perhaps polished by means of 
pumice cloth or sandpaper, to make the cloth smooth and 
lustrous. 

Final steps. — Finally the goods are pressed and thereby 
given a finished appearance. This is usually performed by 
means of heavy presses, either with dry heat or with steam. 
The most common present-day method of pressing cloth is 
by running it between heavy rollers heated by steam. Care 
must be taken not to get the rolls too hot or the wool will 
be damaged. The cloth is next inspected again, run through 
a measuring machine, doubled, rolled, and wrapped in 
paper, and packed into cases ready for the clothing manu- 
facturer or the dry goods jobber and the retail store. 

Worsted finishing.— Worsteds are not generally fulled 
as are woolens. After burling, worsteds are usually singed 
and then crabbed. The crabbing process sets the weave so 
that in the later operations it w411 not be obliterated. It 
consists in running the cloth tightly stretched over rollers 
through a trough containing hot water. After an hour or 
two of this the cloth is scoured and rinsed and then closely 
sheared. There are several varieties of worsted, each of 
which requires its own special finish or after-treatment. 
Innovations are constantly introduced to alter the appear- 
ance a little in one way or another. Among these are the 
fancy or yarn-dyed worsteds, serges, worsted dress goods, 
and worsted cheviots. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE CARE OF TEXTILES 

Importance of proper care. — Not a small share of the 
dissatisfaction that arises among consumers of textiles re- 
garding specific fabrics is due to lack of proper care of 
the cloth. Each textile has its own constitution and there- 
fore needs its special attention. Linen must be treated 
differently from cotton, and both in turn must receive a 
care quite different from that needed by wool. Silk calls 
for still different care. A textile fabric cannot be expected 
to give its fullest service unless cared for according to its 
specific qualities. 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR CARE OF TEXTILES 

Certain general observations concerning the care of tex- 
tiles are applicable to all alike; these we shall first note. 
Such little attentions as keeping garments and fabrics free 
from dust by frequent brushings are matters of everyday 
knowledge by all, but are by no means always observed. 
Nor is the danger from dust clearly understood. If dust 
were simply dead, inert matter as it seems to the eye, there 
would be little danger of loss from letting garments and 
cloths go undusted for some time. But dust, unfortunately, 
usually contains great numbers of little germs, living organ- 
isms, that fly about with currents of air, seeking food and 
resting places. It so happens that the textile fibers are 

282 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 283 

excellent foods for some of these germs. Leaving the dust 
on a garment may mean leaving some of these hungry and 
industrious little germs which attach themselves upon a 
fabric and multiply at a very rapid rate, soon covering 
entire spots if not whole garments. When this has oc- 
curred, no amount of brushing can dislodge them all. They 
eat their way into the very heart of the fiber, leaving it 
weakened, discolored, and dust stained. 

Protection from mildew. — One of the commonest forms 
of cloth destruction is that called mildew. Mildew is caused 
by the penetration of large numbers of microscopic plants 
into the cloth fiber. When the work of these tiny forms of 
life has gone far enough, the color of the fabric changes 
and in time the cloth actually falls to pieces; nothing re- 
mains but the mildew plants themselves and their waste 
matter. Knowing these facts concerning the dangers of 
dust, we can see the value of the injunction to brush cloth- 
ing after every using and to store it or hang it away only 
after it is perfectly dry. Moisture helps these little organ- 
isms materially. 

Unused garments should be hung away carefully so that 
wrinkles may not form. Sleeves of valuable garments 
should be pressed out flat or filled with tissue paper. All 
spots should be removed as soon as possible for fresh spots 
or stains are always more easily eradicated than old ones. 
Light injures some colors, especially on fabrics that were 
never intended for daytime use. Such fabrics should be 
kept in dark, cool closets, or should be so wrapped as to 
keep out sharp light. 

Storing" textiles. — Storing goods is a science in itself. 
Providing the right temperature and the right amount of 
moisture, regulating the light — such things are matters 
which need to be carefully studied by anyone who has 
anything to do with textiles. Cloths and garments to be 
stored should, as a rule, be wrapped in blue, brown, or 



284 TEXTILES 

other dark-colored paper, first, for the sake of protection 
from Hght which penetrates lighter papers more easily, 
and, second, because light pape^ — whites and yellows — 
tend to spot light-colored fabrics with yellow, as the bleach- 
ing process used in whitening paper is cheap and some- 
what imperfect. 

Goods to be packed should be perfectly dry, clean, 
brushed, and in order, that is, properly folded. All steel 
pins should be carefully removed or rust spots will form. 
Cloth should be rolled into bolts, ribbons into rolls, em- 
broidery and laces should be wound on cards. This is, to 
be sure, the way in which these goods come to the retail 
store; but the point needs to be emphasized that in this 
same fashion these goods should be kept, even at home, and 
in small quantities. Consumers should carefully heed this 
caution. 

Protection from insects. — All textiles are subject to at- 
tacks by insect or other living organisms, commonly called 
pests, the particular variety depending upon the given tex- 
tile. As we have already seen, mildew attacks cotton and 
linen. Mildew is similar in nature to molds, several of 
which attack not only vegetable fibers but also wool and 
silk. Housewives of the past kept insects out of their 
linen chests by using aromatic oils or essences, such as 
cloves, tobacco leaves, camphor, cedar sprigs, wintergreen, 
and so on. This practice had some value but these aromatic 
substances simply acted as deterrents. They by no means 
prevented all depredations. There is only one certain 
preventive and that is to keep the textile goods where in- 
sects cannot get at them. Above all, textile goods should 
be frequently looked over, aired, and dusted, so as to 
prevent anything that does attack them from getting a very 
long start. 

Prevention of destruction of textiles by moths. — Re- 
cently the Bureau of Entomology of the United States De- 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 285 

partment of Agriculture concluded some practical investiga- 
tions on the best methods of preventing the destruction of 
textile goods by moths and published a circular on the sub- 
ject entitled, "The True Clothes Moths." The following 
description and recommendations as to remedies are taken 
therefrom : 

. "The destructive work of the larvae of the small moths 
commonly known as clothes moths, and also as carpet 
moths, fur moths, etc., in woolen fabrics, fur and similar 
material during the warm months of summer in the North, 
and in the South at any season, is an altogether too com- 
mon experience. The preference they so often show for 
woolen or fur garments gives these insects a much more 
general interest than is perhaps true of any other household 
pest. 

"The little yellowish or buff-colored moths sometimes 
seen flitting about rooms, attracted to lamps at night, or 
dislodged from infested garments or portieres, are them- 
selves harmless enough, and in fact their mouth-parts are 
rudimentary, and no food whatever is taken in the winged 
state. The destruction occasioned by these pests is, there- 
fore, limited entirely to the feeding or larval stage. The 
killing of the moths by the aggrieved housekeeper, while 
usually based on the wrong inference that they are actually 
engaged in eating her woolens, is nevertheless a most 
valuable proceeding, because it checks in so much the mul- 
tiplication of the species which is the sole duty of the adult 
insect. 

"The clothes moths all belong to the group of minute 
Lepidoptera known as Tineina, the old Latin name for cloth 
worms of all sorts, and are characterized by very narrow 
wings fringed with long hairs. The common species of 
clothes moths have been associated with man from the 
earliest times and are thoroughly cosmopolitan. They are 
all probably of Old World origin, none of them being in- 



286 TEXTILES 

digenous to the United States. That th^y were well known 
to the ancients is shown by Job's reference to a ''garment 
that is moth eaten," and Pliny has given such an accurate 
description of one of them as to lead to the easy identifica- 
tion of the species. That they were early introduced into 
the United States is shown by Pehr Kalm, a Swedish scien- 
tist, who took a keen interest in house pests. He reported 
these tineids to be abundant in 1748 in Philadelphia, then 
a straggHng village, and says that clothes, worsted gloves, 
and other woolen stuffs hung up all summer were often 
eaten through and through by the worms, and furs were so 
ruined that the hair would come off in handfuls. 

''What first led to the association of these and other 
household pests with man is an interesting problem. In the 
case of the clothes moths, the larvae of all of which can, in 
case of necessity, still subsist on almost any dry animal 
matter, their early association with man was probably in 
the role of scavengers, and in prehistoric times they prob- 
ably fed on waste animal material about human habitations 
and on fur garments. The fondness they exhibit nowadays 
for tailor-made suits and other expensive products of the 
loom is simply an illustration of their ability to keep pace 
with man in his development in the matter of clothing from 
the skin garments of savagery to the artistic products of the 
modern tailor and dressmaker. 

"Three common destructive species of clothes moths oc- 
cur in this country. Much confusion, however, exists in 
all the early writings on these insects, all three species be- 
ing inextricably mixed in the description and accounts of 
habits. 

"The common injurious clothes moths are the case-making 
species (Tinea pellionella L.), the webbing species or South- 
ern clothes moth (Tineola biselliella Hummel), and the gal- 
lery species or tapestry moth (Trichophaga tapetzella L.). 

"A few other species, which normally infest animal prod- 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 287 

ucts, may occasionally also injure woolens, but ^re not of 
sufficient importance to be here noted. 

''The case-making clothes moth. — The case-making 
clothes moth (Tinea pellionella L.) is the only species which 
constructs for its protection a true transportable case. It 
was characterized by Linnaeus, and carefully studied by 
Reaumur, early in the last century. Its more interesting 
habits have caused it to be often a subject of investigation, 
and its life history will serve to illustrate the habits of all 
the clothes moths. 

"The moth expands about half an inch. Its head and 
forewings are grayish yellow, with indistinct fuscous spots 
on the middle of the wings. The hind wings are white or 
grayish and silky. It is the common species in the North, 
being widely distributed and very destructive. Its larvae 
feed on woolens, carpets, etc., and are especially destructive 
to furs and feathers. In the North it has but one annual 
generation, the moths appearing from June to August, and, 
on the authority of Professor Fernald, even in rooms kept 
uniformly heated night and day, it never occurs in the 
larval state in winter. In the South, however, it appears 
from January to October, and has two or even more broods 
annually. 

''The larva is a dull white caterpillar, with the head and 
the upper part of the next segment light brown, and is 
never seen free from its movable case or jacket, the con- 
struction of which is its first task. If it be necessary for 
it to change its position, the head and first segment are 
thrust out of the case, leaving the thoracic legs free, with 
which it crawls, dragging its case after it, to any suitable 
situation. With the growth of the larva it becomes neces- 
sary from time to time to enlarge the case both in length 
and circumference, and this is accomplished in a very in- 
teresting way. Without leaving its case the larva makes 
a slit halfway down one side and inserts a triangular gore 



288 TEXTILES 

of new material. A similar insertion is made on the oppo- 
site side, and the larva reverses itself without leaving the 
case and makes corresponding slits and additions in the 
other half. The case is lengthened by successive additions 
to either end. Exteriorly the case appears to be a matted 
mass of small particles of wool; interiorly it is lined with 
soft, whitish silk. By transferring the larva from time to 
time to fabrics of different colors the case may be made to 
assume as varied a pattern as the experimenter desires, and 
will illustrate, in its coloring, the peculiar method of mak- 
ing the enlargements and additions described. 

*'On reaching full growth the larva attaches its case by 
silken threads to the garment or other material upon which 
it has been feeding, or sometimes carries it long distances. 
In one instance numbers of them were noticed to have 
scaled a fifteen-foot wall to attach their cases in an angle of 
the cornice of the ceiling. It undergoes its tranformations 
to the chrysalis within the larval case, and under norfnal 
conditions the moth emerges three weeks later, the chrysalis 
having previously worked partly out of the larval case to 
facilitate the escape of the moth. The latter has an irregu- 
lar flight and can also run rapidly. It has a distinct aversion 
to light, and usually conceals itself promptly in garments 
or crevices whenever it is frightened from its resting place. 
The moths are comparatively short-lived, not long surviv- 
ing the deposition of their eggs for a new generation of 
destructive larvae. The eggs are minute, not easily visible 
to the naked eye, and are commonly placed directly on the 
material which is to furnish the larvae with food. In some 
cases they may be deposited in the crevices of trunks or 
boxes, the newly hatched larvae entering through these 
crevices. 

''The webbing, or southern clothes moth. — The webbing, 
or southern clothes moth (Tineola biselliella. Hummel) is 
the more abundant and injurious species in the latitude of 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 289 

Washington and southward. It occurs also farther north, 
though in somewhat less numbers than the preceding spe- 
cies. It presents two annual broods even in the northern 
states, the first appearing in June from eggs deposited in 
May, and the second in August and September. It is about 
the size of pellionella. The forewings are, however, uni- 
formly pale ocherous, without markings or spots. Its lar- 
va feeds on a large variety of animal substances — woolens, 
hair, feathers, furs, and in England it has even been ob- 
served to feed on cobwebs in the corners of rooms, and in 
confinement has been successfully reared on this rather 
dainty food substance. The report that it feeds on dried 
plants in herbaria is rather open to question, as its other 
recorded food materials are all of animal origin. 

"The larva of this moth constructs no case, but spins a 
silky, or more properly cobwebby, path wherever it goes. 
When full grown, it builds a cocoon of silk, intermixed with 
bits of wool, resembling somewhat the case of pellionella, 
but more irregular in outline. Within this it undergoes 
its transformation to the chrysalis, and the moth in emerg- 
ing leaves its pupal shell projecting out of the cocoon as 
with the preceding species. 

"The tapestry moth. — The tapestry moth (Trichophage 
tapetzella, L.) is rare in the United States. It is much 
larger than either of the other two species, measuring 
three-fourths inch in expansion of wings, and is more 
striking in coloration. The head is white, the basal third 
of the forewings black, with the exterior two-thirds of a 
creamy white, more or less obscured on the middle with 
gray ; the hind wings are pale gray. 

"This moth normally affects rather coarser and heavier 
cloths than the small species and is more apt to occur in 
carpets, horse blankets, and tapestries than in the finer 
and thinner woolen fabrics. It also affects felting, furs, 
and skins, and is a common source of damage to the woolen 



290 TEXTILES 

upholstering of carriages, being rather more likely to occur 
in carriage houses and barns than in dwelling houses. Its 
larva enters directly into the material which it infests, con- 
structing burrows or galleries, which it lines more or less 
completely with silk. Within these galleries it is protected 
and concealed during its larval life, and later undergoes its 
transformation without other protection than that afforded 
by the gallery. The damage is due as much or more to 
its burrowing than to the actual amount of the material 
consumed for food. 

"Remedies. — There is no easy method of preventing the 
damage done by clothes moths, and to maintain the integrity 
of woolens or other materials which they are likely to attack 
demands constant vigilance, with frequent inspection and 
treatment. In general, they are likely to affect injuriously 
only articles which are put away and left undisturbed for 
some little time. Articles in daily or weekly use, and apart- 
ments frequently aired and swept, or used as living rooms, 
are not apt to be seriously affected. Carpets under these 
conditions are rarely attacked, except sometimes around the 
borders, where the insects are not so much disturbed by 
walking and sweeping. Agitation, such as beating, shaking, 
or brushing, and exposure to air and sunlight, are old reme- 
dies and still among the best at command. Various repel- 
lents, such as tobacco, camphor, naphthaline cones or balls, 
and cedar chips or sprigs, have a certain value if the gar- 
ments are not already stocked with eggs or larvae. The 
odors of these repellents are so disagreeable to the parent 
moths that they are not likely to come to deposit their eggs 
as long as the odor is strong. As the odor weakens the 
protection decreases, and if the eggs or larv^ are already 
present, these odors have no effect on their development; 
while if the moths are inclosed with the stored material to 
be protected by these repellents, so that they cannot escape, 
they will of necessity deposit their eggs, and the destructive 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 291 

work of the larvae will be little, if at all, restricted. After 
woolens have been given a vigorous and thorough treat- 
ment and aired and exposed to sunlight, however, it is of 
some advantage in packing them away to inclose with them 
any of the repellents mentioned. Cedar chests and ward- 
robes are of value in proportion to the freedom of the 
material from infestation when stored away, but, as the 
odor of the wood is largely lost with age, in the course of 
a few years the protection greatly decreases. Fur and such 
garments may also be stored in boxes or trunks which have 
been lined with heavy tar paper used in buildings. New 
papering should* be given to such receptacles every year or 
two. Similarly, the tarred paper moth bags obtainable at 
dry-goods houses are of some value; always, however, 
the materials should first be subjected to the treatment out- 
lined above. 

"To protect carpets, clothes, and cloth-covered furniture, 
furs, etc., these should be thoroughly beaten, shaken, 
brushed, and exposed as long as practicable to the sunlight 
in early spring, either in April, May, or June, depending on 
the latitude. The brushing of garments is a very important 
consideration, to remove the eggs or young larvae which 
might escape notice. Such materials can then be hung away 
in clothes closets which have been thoroughly cleaned, and, 
if necessary, sprayed with benzine about the cracks of the 
floor and the baseboards. If no other protection be given, 
the garments should be examined at least once a month, 
during summer, brushed, and, if necessary, exposed to sun- 
light. 

'Tt would be more convenient, however, so to inclose or 
wrap up such material as to prevent the access of the moths 
to it, after it has once been thoroughly treated and aired. 
This can be easily effected in the case of clothing and furs 
by wrapping tightly in stout paper or inclosing in well-made 
bags of cotton or linen cloth or strong paper. Doctor 



293 TEXTILES 

Howard has adopted a plan which is inexpensive, and 
which he has found eminently satisfactory. For a small 
sum he secures a number of the large pasteboard boxes, 
such as tailors use, and in these packs away all winter 
clothing, gumming a strip of wrapping paper around the 
edge, so as to seal up the box completely and leave no 
cracks. These boxes with care will last m.any years. With 
thorough preliminary treatment it will not be necessary 
to use the tar-impregnated paper sacks sold as moth pro- 
tectors, which may be objectionable on account of the 
odor. 

"In the case of cloth-covered furniture and cloth-lined 
carriages, which are stored or left unused for considerable 
periods in summer, it will probably be necessary to spray 
them twice or three times, viz., in April, June, and August, 
with benzine or naphtha, to protect them from moths. These 
substances can be applied very readily with any small spray- 
ing device, and will not harm the material, but caution 
must be exercised on account of their inflammability. An- 
other means of protecting such articles is to sponge them 
very carefully with a dilute solution of corrosive sublimate 
in alcohol, made just strong enough not to leave a white 
stain. 

"The method of protection adopted by one of the lead- 
ing furriers of Washington, who also has a large business 
and experience in storing costly furs, etc., is practically the 
course already outlined. Furs when received are first most 
thoroughly and vigorously beaten with small sticks, to dis- 
lodge all loosened hair and the larvae or moths. They are 
then gone over carefully with a steel comb and packed 
away in large boxes lined with heavy tar roofing paper, 
or in closets similarly lined with this paper. An examina- 
tion is made every two to four weeks, and, if necessary, at 
any time, any garment requiring it is rebeaten and combed. 
During many years of experience in this climate, which is 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 293 

especially favorable to moth damage, this merchant has 
prevented any serious injury from moths. 

''Cold storage. — The" best method of protection, and the 
one now commonly adopted by dealers in carpets, furs, etc., 
is cold storage. The most economical degree of cold to be 
used as a protection from clothes moths and allied insects 
destructive to woolens and furs has been definitely deter- 
mined by the careful experiments ca^rried out at the in- 
stance of Dr. Howard by Dr. Albert M. Read, manager of 
a large storage warehouse company in Washington, D. C. 
These experiments demonstrated that a temperature main- 
tained at 40 degrees Fahrenheit renders the larval or other 
stages of these insects dormant and is thoroughly effective. 
The larvae, however, are able to stand a steady temperature 
as low as 18 degrees Fahrenheit without apparently ex- 
periencing any ill results. Dr. Read's experiments have 
extended over two years, and his later results as reported 
by Dr. Howard are very interesting. They have demon- 
strated that while a temperature kept uniformly at 18 de- 
grees Fahrenheit will not destroy the larvae of Tineola 
bisellinella or of the black carpet beetle (Attagenus piceus), 
an alternation of a low temperature with a comparatively 
high one invariably results in the death of the larvae of 
these two insects. For example, if larvse of either which 
haye been kept at a temperature of 18 degrees Fahrenheit 
are removed to a temperature of 40 degrees to 50 degrees 
Fahrenheit, they will become slightly active and, when re- 
turned to the lower temperature and kept there for a little 
time, will not revive upon a retransfer to the warmer tem- 
perature. 

"It is recommended, therefore, that storage companies 
submit goods to two or three changes of temperature as 
noted before placing them permanently in an apartment 
kept at a temperature of from 40 degrees to 42 degrees 
Fahrenheit. The maintenance of a temperature lower than 



294 TEXTILES 

the last indicated is needless and a wasteful expense. Where 
the cost of cold storage is not an item to be seriously con- 
sidered, the adoption of this method for protection of goods 
during the hot months is strongly recommended." 

Care in laundering. — Care of textiles in laundering is 
highly important. Many a valuable fabric has been ruined 
by improper washing. Beautiful colors are sometimes 
spoiled, while soft, smooth, finely finished goods come out 
of the laundry rough, hard, and ugly in appearance. How 
goods shall be cleaned is a matter of great importance and 
one upon which the salesman needs to inform his customers 
so that they may get the greatest service out of their pur- 
chases. 

There are four things to be considered before laundering 
or cleaning any textile fabric: 

1. The kind of weave and the probable effect of washing 

and rubbing upon it. 

2. The kinds of textile fibers used in the fabric. 

3. The weight and strength of the fabric. 

4. The degree of fastness of the colors. 

Kind of weave. — The kind of weave is important to this 
extent, that if the weave is loose and sleazy, the fabric 
will not stand rubbing. Certain brocades and satins or 
sateens, for example, are not to be rubbed because the Jac- 
quard figures would be damaged by so doing. The plain 
weaves show dirt the most easily, but likewise wash the 
most easily. Closely woven goods in twills do not soil 
easily, but hold dirt very tenaciously; such fabrics need 
most careful washing. Any weave that helps the cloth to 
absorb is in its nature more difficult to clean than an open 
weave fabric. 

Kind of aher. — The kind of textile fibers used in the 
fabric should be determined in advance, for each textile 
fiber demands methods of laundering different from the 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 295 

others. For example, cotton can stand more rubbing and 
more soaping than any of the other fabrics in proportion to 
its weight and strength. But cotton is quite susceptible to 
damage when brought in contact with acids. The chief 
difficulties in laundering cotton goods are in retaining 
brightness of dye or printing and in ironing with irons of 
proper temperature. Cotton can stand a great deal of 
what would be abuse to other textiles. 

Linen is similar to cotton in most respects. Bleached 
linens show tendencies to yellow with time; they then re- 
quire special treatment such as exposing to sunlight and 
laying out on the snow or grass. 

Wool, on the other hand, presents a number of entirely 
different problems. Wool is in danger of shrinking, hard- 
ening, and scorching, as well as of losing its colors. Wash- 
ing in too hot or too cold water, the use of alkalies or strong 
soaps, or rubbing and running through tight wringer rolls 
shrinks and hardens wool fabrics. Alkali may even destroy 
wool fiber. For these reasons wool needs vSpecial care in 
laundering. 

Silk, like wool, an animal fiber, requires no less careful 
handling in laundering. 

Weight and strength of fabric. — The weight and strength 
of the fabrics to be cleaned should be considered in order 
tO' determine what laundering processes the fabric will 
stand. 

Colors of fabrics. — Finally, the fastness of the colors 
should be considered. Dyes that are fast under one method 
of washing may fade under another. Hence in preparing 
to launder an article, a colored woolen fabric, for exam- 
ple, precautions should be taken to prevent injury either 
to the wool or to the coloring matters. 

Mixed goods. — Mixed or union goods present a special 
problem that is sometimes difficult to solve. The usual 
method is to launder the material as if it were entirely 



296 TEXTILES 

composed of the weakest kind of fiber in its composition. 
Wool and cotton should be laundered as if it were all wool. 
Cotton and silk should be laundered like silk. 

Cleaning wool. — Wool fabrics or garments should be 
washed in soft water. Before placing the fabrics in the 
water, the water should be heated to a temperature of 85 
degrees to 100 Fahrenheit, little more than lukewarm. Into 
the water should be placed enough soap of good quality, as 
free as possible from any uncombined alkali, to make suds. 
The addition of a little ammonia will help take the dirt out 
of the fabrics. Next, the garments, blankets, or fabrics, 
should be brushed and shaken to remove any loose lint, 
dust, or other particles. They are then to be placed in the 
water and allowed to soak for an hour, after which they 
should be kneaded and drawn backwards and forwards, 
up and down in the suds. They should never be rubbed 
or wrung. -Soap should not be rubbed directly upon the 
fabric. Soap and rubbing cause the wool to felt; the bet- 
ter the grade of wool, the greater and more rapid the felt- 
ing. The wool fabrics may now be removed to another 
tub of water of the same temperature but with less soap 
and ammonia ; here they are stirred about in the same care- 
ful manner, rinsed, and removed for a final rinsing to a 
third tub with pure water of the same lukewarm tempera- 
ture. After the last rinsing, the water is pressed out gently 
and the fabrics are dried. Sunshine and the open air are 
the best driers, though out of the question in a laundry. 
The drying temperature should never be more than 100 
degrees Fahrenheit. Napped goods should be freshened 
after drying by rubbing with a piece of flannel. Soft wool- 
ens, delaines, cashmeres, and serges should be soaked for 
only a short time. If the fabrics need stretching, this 
should be done just before drying. Most woolens do not 
need ironing. Those fabrics that must be ironed should be 
covered with damp muslin and pressed with a heavy iron 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 297 

just warm, not hot. A hot iron will shrink flannel and 
turn it yellow. Cashmere should be dampened before 
ironing. 

Laundering silks. — Silks need about the same treatment 
as that given to wool, although silks do not mat or felt as 
do wools under conditions of heat, alkali, and rubbing. The 
water to be used in washing silks should be soft, of an 
even warm, not hot temperature, and only a neutral soap 
free from alkali should be used. Silks should not be rubbed 
but simply drawn backwards and forwards and poked up 
and down in the water. Nor should silks be crushed, 
squeezed, or wrung out with a wringer unless placed be- 
tween folds of linen cloth. Silk goods should be ironed 
slightly damp, except pongee, which should be ironed dry. 
The face of a silk fabric should not be touched with a 
hot iron. The proper method is to protect the silk fabric 
by covering it with linen when ironing. 

Cleaning colored goods. — Colored goods of any kind 
need special precautions that depend upon the nature of the 
dyes in the cloth. A complete set of directions for launder- 
ing colored goods would take up more space than can be 
given here. It will be sufficient for present purposes to 
enumerate the conditions that are especially likely to cause 
fading. 

1. Long soaking in water. 

2. Boiling or overheating. 

3. Cold water or freezing. 

4. Alkalies — washing sodas, washing fluids, washing pow- 

ders, and poor soaps. 

5. Washing two different colors in the same tub at the 

same time. There may be an affinity between these 
that may cause either or both to run. 

6. Exposing to direct sunlight. 

7. Ironing with too hot irons. 



298 TEXTILES 

Setting the colors. — Colors may sometimes be set so that 
they will not come out in washing under ordinary circum- 
stances. This desirable object is accomplished by using 
salt, alum, borax, vinegar, or ox gall in the wash water. 
The occasions for such agents vary greatly, and no general 
direction can or should be given. What will set some colors 
is likely to cause others to fade. 

Methods of cleansing fabrics. — The purpose of launder- 
ing is both to remove dirt and impurities and to whiten or 
brighten the cloth. In the ordinary washing this is done 
both by mechanical and chemical means. The rubbing, boil- 
ing, rinsing, and so on, are mechanical means; ammonia, 
borax, washing powder, and several other substances com- 
monly applied to loosen dirt or dissolve it, are chemical 
means. Coarse, heavy fabrics that can stand it may have 
both mechanical and chemical methods applied, but the finer 
the goods, the more careful the decision must be as to 
which method is advisable. In general, it may be said that, 
whenever possible, chemical help should be used, provided 
it is of such nature as not to injure the fabric ; for chemical 
cleansing saves labor, while mechanical means all require 
labor or power. 

Bluing. — Bluing, commonly a preparation made of Prus- 
sian blue, is used in laundering to whiten clothes. Most 
textiles are somewhat yellowish in tone, and if the bleaching 
and washing have been imperfectly done, the yellow is very 
decided. Bluing mixes with the yellow, and the result is a 
whiter appearing fabric. The use of too much bluing is 
damaging to both cotton and linen fabrics; it causes stains 
which are removed with difficulty. 

Starching. — Laundered goods are frequently starched. 
The purpose of starch is the same here as in the manufac- 
ture and finishing of textiles. It increases the weight, stiff- 
ness, and body of the fabric. But starch serves another 
important purpose. Starched fabrics are not soiled so 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 299 

easily as soft fabrics, and they wash out very easily. Starch 
in fabrics makes it easier to remove stains, the starch being 
an absorbent and therefore drawing much of the stain to 
itself. Simply washing the starch out removes much of 
the stain. Starch neutralizes some staining substances such 
as tannin from tea and coffee. Where the starch is heavy, 
however, it makes the fabric brittle and breaks it to pieces 
prematurely. 

Yellow discoloration. — Yellow discoloration in fabrics 
fresh from the laundry is practically inexcusable. It is 
caused by definitely known practices that can readily be 
obviated by study, care, and by purchasing necessary equip- 
ment. The causes which most commonly produce this yel- 
low discoloration are : 

1. The use of hard water. All laundering should be 

done in soft water. Where soft water is not avail- 
able, hard water can usualy be made soft by chem- 
ical means that will not injure fabrics. 

2. The use of too much carbonate of soda or washing 

soda. Washing soda has little or no cleansing effect 
in itself. It is an active chemical that seeks to com- 
bine with some other substance. In laundering, its 
chief use is to soften hard water. It can easily be 
used in too large quantities, making the clothes 
yellow rather than white. 

3. Insufficient rinsing. 

4. The use of too little water in the wash tubs. Better 

results are always obtained by using more water 
than is necessary rather than less. 

5. Washing too hurriedly, and using strong soaps and 

ammonia to hasten the process. 

6. Too quick drying in overheated air. 

Theory of removing stains. — ^The removal of stains is a 
subject that may properly be considered here. Here, as in 



300 TEXTILES 

laundering, the character of the textile must be most care- 
fully considered. But not only that; the character of the 
stain should also be known if it is to be removed without 
damaging the goods. The aim in stain removal is, of 
course, to find some substance that will attack, draw out, 
or loosen the staining material, yet leave the goods un- 
harmed. Various substances may thus be used. Some 
stains can best be removed by covering them with an ab- 
sorbent material that will draw out the staining substances. 
Others can be eradicated best by covering them or moisten- 
ing them with some liquid that will dissolve them but will 
not attack the dyes or injure the cloth fiber. Sometimes 
the stain should be treated with a chemical that will com- 
bine with the staining material and form a new substance 
that can be washed out with water. Finally, where all 
other methods fail, the stain may be removed by bleaching. 
The removal of stain may, therefore, be accomplished 
usually by some one of the following methods : 

1. Absorbents. 

2. Solvents. 

3. Acids or alkalies, or other chemicals. 

4. Bleaching agents. 

Absorbents. — The common absorbents that may be used 
for stain removal purposes include blotting paper, common 
brown paper, powdered chalk, whiting, pipe clay, fuller's 
earth, magnesia, gypsum, starch, melted tallow, corn meal, 
bran, and so on. Absorbents can be used to best advantage 
on fresh stains still moist. Hot grease, fresh ink stains, cof- 
fee or tea stains can be treated in this way, not to remove 
them entirely but rather to remove a large part of the 
staining substance and prevent it from spreading further. 
Absorbents are especially valuable for use preliminary to 
treatment by some other method. 

Solvents. — Solvents actually attack and dissolve the 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 301 

staining substance so that it may be flooded out by the dis- 
solving liquid. Some of the common solvents are water, 
hot or cold, alcohol, gasoline, benzine, kerosene, turpentine, 
and chloroform. The removal of ordinary soil by means 
of washing in water is the most frequent example of this 
method. Cold water will remove milk and cream stains, 
stains from sugar, candies, and cocoa. Hot water may be 
used to remove fresh coffee stains. The mineral oils, ben- 
zine, gasoline, and kerosene, are useful solvents of grease, 
oil, wax, and paint. Gasoline is probably the best for use 
with woolen and silk fabrics but not with cotton. Gasoline, 
however, is very volatile, and passes off rapidly in the form 
of inflammable gas. It should, therefore, be used out of 
doors in the daylight; and never in a room where there is 
a fire or a gas flame or kerosene light, otherwise disaster 
is likely to occur. Vaseline, itself a mineral grease from 
the same source as kerosene or gasoline, may be softened 
and loosened by soaking the stained fabric in one of these 
mineral oils. When sufficiently liquid, the whole may in 
turn be dissolved in ammonia and water or washing soda 
and water, whereupon the mineral oil combines with the 
alkali in the form of an emulsion which can be washed out. 
Alcohol is a solvent for grass stains, for varnish and paint, 
and for several other substances. Its great value is en- 
hanced by the fact that it will not harm delicate fabrics. 
Frequently, too, it is an excellent solvent for medicine 
stains. Turpentine is the universal solvent for paint, var- 
nish, resins, oils, rubber, and the like. It is also a chemical 
solvent for iodine, sulphur, and phosphorus. Chloroform 
is the best of the solvents, and likewise the most expensive. 
It acts powerfully on grease, wax, camphor, rubber, iodine, 
and many other sorts of stains. No other solvent is so 
satisfactory for use on delicately colored textiles. When 
colors seem faded, chloroform is the best known substance 
for reviving them. Grease, itself the most frequent stain- 



302 TEXTILES 

ing agent, must be used in some instances as a solvent for 
other substances. Tar and pitch may be removed by the 
use of lard, as may grass stains too if they are fresh. After 
obliterating the original stain, the grease is removed by some 
regular grease solvent, such as benzine, hot water and soap, 
or gasoline. 

Chemical Action. — Stains made by acids, such as fruit 
juices, wine, or lemon juice, or even by stronger acids, are 
best eradicated by means of some solvent; unhappily it is 
not always possible to find at hand a solvent other than 
water, and this is not effective after the acids have dried. 
In the failure of solvents, the best plan is to apply an alkali 
which combines chemically with the acid, forming thus a 
new substance which ordinarily will be easily dissolved by 
water. Ammonia is one of the best alkalies for this pur- 
pose, not being likely to injure even delicate fabrics. 

''For the removal of stains and spots from colored goods 
and carpets, ammonia takes first place. It is one of the 
first chemicals to be used. It can be applied to cottons, 
wools, and silks, and leaves no trace of its use. Grease flies 
before its application, and when diluted with water, spots 
caused by orange or lemon juice or vinegar are removed 
by it from the most delicate materials. From carpets, cur- 
tains, and suits of clothing, it will remove almost every 
stain." — The Modern Laundry, Vol. II., page 82. 

Washing soda (carbonate of soda) and cooking soda 
(bicarbonate of soda) are also valuable alkalies for use on 
uncolored cottons and linens. Furthermore, acid stains may 
be dissolved and removed by the use of certain weak acids, 
such as oxalic, citric, and tartaric acids, sour milk, and very 
weak muriatic acid. The theory seems to be the same as 
for the using of kerosene on vaseline. The acid liquids 
combine with the staining material and dissolve it, making 
it easy to wash out with water. 

Acids. — Acids must be used carefully because of their 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 303 

destructive effects on cotton and linen and on many dye 
substances. The acids named above, except sour milk and 
muriatic acid, are all vegetable acids and quite v^eak. 
Oxalic acid is made from the sorrel plant. Citric acid is 
made from lemons or other citrus fruits ; tartaric acid, from 
grape juice. Each of these is valuable in removing fruit 
stains, iron rust, and old-fashioned, iron-gall, ink stains. 
When salt is added to any of them, a bleaching process sets 
in. Tartaric acid is a highly useful and safe acid for stain 
removal; no textile is injured by it. Since it is, however, 
a weak acid, its action is neither rapid nor strong enough 
to remove certain very deep stains. 

Bleaching. — If no other means succeeds a stain must 
be removed by bleaching. There are several bleaching 
methods and substances, differing greatly in effectiveness. 
Practically none of them can be used on colored goods with- 
out endangering the colors in the fabric. Some are de- 
structive to the fabrics themselves and must be used with 
care and judgment. A few of the most common may be 
named here. 

Oxygen. — Sunlight and air together form a gentle but 
effective bleaching agent provided that haste is not impera- 
tive. All discolored white goods may be improved by ex- 
posure to sunlight. Sulphur fumes are used most fre- 
quently for wool and silk goods. The method of applica- 
tion is very simple. The spot to be bleached is dampened 
in water and then held over burning sulphur so that the 
fumes penetrate the spot directly. After the stain has 
whitened, the fabric needs washing in soapsuds, and rinsing 
in clean water. 

Bleaching powder. — Bleaching powder or chloride of 
lime is the most frequently used bleach for cotton and linen 
goods. It is valuable in removing refractory stains such 
as ink spots, mildew, old blood stains, and iron rust. The 
spot is covered with chloride of lime and moistened with 



304 TEXTILES 

some acid such as vinegar, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, or 
sour milk. The bleaching is rapid and should be stopped 
by rinsing thoroughly in water just as soon as the stain 
disappears. A bleach weaker than chloride of lime but 
working on the same principle is known as Javelle water. 
Javelle water is made as follows for household use: 

1 pound sal soda or pearl ash, 
%. pound chloride of lime, 

2 quarts cold water. 

After this mixture is allowed to stand for several hours, 
the clear liquor is poured off for use. It must be kept in 
a dark, cool place if it is to retain its strength. Javelle 
water may be used for the same purposes as bleaching 
powder, and, being less active, it does not require such 
cautious handling. Many housekeepers use Javelle water 
for practically all sorts of colored stains. This doubtless 
saves time, but is hardly economical, for Javelle water does 
destroy textile fiber. 

Peroxide of hydrogen. — Peroxide of hydrogen is an ex- 
cellent bleach, and should be used much more frequently 
than at present, for it seems to have no destructive effect 
on textile fiber. Its only disadvantage as compared with 
Javelle water is its higher cost. 

Borax may at times be used as a mild bleaching agent in 
laundering clothes that show yellowish tints or streaks. 

Lemon juice and salt make a bleach that works much 
like chloride of lime, though it is not quite so strong. Any 
acid added to salt starts chemical bleaching. 

Principles of Removing Stains. — In concluding our 
study of the principle of removing stains, we may enu- 
merate certain points of practice : 

I. The sooner the stain is attended to, the better. Fresh 
stains are always easier to remove than old ones. 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 305 

2. Use stain removers in the following order until some- 

thing is found that is strong enough to remove the 
stain : absorbents, solvents, chemical combinations, 
. bleaching agents. Never use a stronger means of 
removing a stain than is necessary. 

3. Determine first, if possible, what caused the stain and 

work directly upon that information. 

4. Do not rub a chemical into a stain. Dab it in, using 

a cloth, sponge, or the fingers. 

5. Use pure chemicals in removing stains. Impure ones 

are likely to leave other stains fully as difficult to 
remove as the original stain. 

6. Strong chemicals, such as acids, should be applied drop 

by drop to the stained fabric moistened with water 
or steam. The use of a medicine dropper for this 
purpose is most convenient. Using this, one can 
readily watch the progress of the remedy and con- 
trol it. 

7. To keep stains from spreading under the influence of 

solvents, it is best first to apply the solvent in a 
ring around the stain and then gradually to work 
in towards the center of the stain. 

Stains and How They May Be Eradicated. — The fol- 
lowing list of stains arranged in alphabetical order gives 
the more ordinary ones together with the best means for 
treating each. Some stains are quite indelible, such as cer- 
tain ink stains and brown stains from scorching. In such 
cases, the only remedy is to cover the spot by dyeing; even 
then the stain may show through the dye. 

Acid. — Ta stop the corrosive action of acids spilled on 
fabric, the fabric should be dipped at once, if possible, into 
ammonia. If the stain becomes dry, ammonia will not be 
strong enough. Tie up a little washing soda or cooking 
soda in the stained part, make a lather of soap and cold 



3o6 TEXTILES ^ 

soft water, immerse the fabric, and boil until the spot dis- 
appears. This treatment frequently causes colored goods 
to fade, but moistening with chloroform will often restore 
the original color. If chloroform fails a solution of nitrate 
of silver will often be of service. If this does not succeed 
there is no hope of recovering the fabric without redyeing. 
When yellow stains on brown or black woolen or worsted 
goods are caused by very strong acids, such as nitric acid, 
they should be padded repeatedly with a woolen pad soaked 
in a concentrated solution of permanganate of potash. 

Aniline and aniline inks. — Wet the stained spot in acetic 
acid, and then apply diluted chloride of lime, and wash out 
carefully. j 

Apple and pear. — Soak in paraffin for a few hours and 
then wash. The paraffin, when melted, is a strong absorbent 
for such fruit colors. 

Blood. — If fresh, soak for twelve hours in cold water; 
then wash in tepid water. If the mark still remains, cover 
it with a paste of cold water and starch, and expose to the 
sun for a day or two. Old stains require bleaching with 
Javelle water, or an application of iodide of potassium 
diluted with four times its weight of cold water. 

Brass. — Brass stains on fabrics may be removed by dab- 
bing with rancid lard or rancid butter. 

Burns. — These are caused perhaps by overheated irons. 
If bad, they are hopeless, and must be hidden by dyeing. 
Slight burns yield to treatment with soap and water. 

Changed colors. — Stains are often caused by local fading 
of dye. They can, in most cases, be removed by reviving 
the dye. The manner of doing this depends upon the kind 
of dye. If the nature of the dye is unknown, dilute am- 
monia should be tried, or dilute acid, or chloroform. It 
does not matter which is tried first, but the effect must be 
carefully watched, and the first chemical washed out at 
once when it is clear that it wil^ not be successful. The, 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 307 

solutions of acid or ammonia should be very dilute, at least 
at first. 

Coffee. — Pour boiling soft water through the stain, and 
while it is still wet hold in the fumes of burning sulphur. 
Washing with soap and water is, however, usually suffi- 
cient without using the sulphur. Glycerin also removes cof- 
fee stains ; it should be diluted by the addition of four times 
as much water and a little ammonia. 

Chocolate and cocoa. — Cocoa stains can be removed by 
using cold water. Otherwise the treatment should be the 
same as for coffee stains. 

Fruit. — Fruit stains can be treated like coffee stains if 
fresh; if old, rub on both sides with yellow soap, cover 
thickly with cold water, starch, and bleach by exposing to 
the sun and air for three or four days. Fruit stains are 
acid stains and may also be removed by treating with al- 
kalies. One method is to apply ammonia and alcohol mixed 
in equal proportions. 

Grass. — Dab with spirits of wine or alcohol. Applica- 
tion of tartaric acid or cream of tartar is sometimes effec- 
tive if used in boiling water, the stained fabric being dipped 
in several times. A grass stain may sometimes be removed 
by rubbing lard over the spot and then washing. Grass 
stains differ greatly in ease of removal. Sometimes am- 
monia will take out such stains, especially if it is found that 
an acid treatment has no effect. Intractable spots need 
bleaching. 

Grease. — Grease stains if still fresh should be treated at 
first with absorbents such as fuller's earth, chalk, talcum 
powder, or flour. Ironing small grease spots over brown 
paper is sometimes helpful. The use of absorbents should 
be supplemented by some solvent such as benzine, gaso- 
line, turpentine, or chloroform. To keep the grease from 
spreading, the solvent should first be applied in a ring 
around the outside of the spot, after which the spot may 



3o8 TEXTILES 

be covered. In using the grease solvents any proximity to 
fire must be carefully avoided. 

Ink. — The great difficulty in removing ink stains is due 
to the fact that ink is made from so many different chemical 
substances. The best way to treat an ink stain is to apply 
some solvent that will not harm the fabric no matter what 
sort of chemical caused the stain. Fresh ink stains may 
frequently be washed or rubbed out in milk. If the stains 
do not begin to fade at once, the fabric should be allowed ; 
to stand in the milk for at least twelve hours. In the mean- 
time, the milk beginning to sour, the weak acid will make 
itself felt on the stain. If this does not remove the stain, 
it should next be treated as for aniline ink. Most of the ■ 
directions given in household guides for treating ink stains " 
are valueless because they apply to inks that are now no 
longer made and used. If the methods suggested above do 
not succeed, then the stain should be covered with melted 
tallow for a few hours. This should be removed by wash- 
ing in hot soapsuds. If this fails, then the spot should be 
bleached out with Javelle water. 

Iodine. — Soak the stain in ammonia. Rub with dry bi- 
carbonate of soda (cooking soda) until stain comes out. 

Iron rust. — Apply citric acid, oxalic acid, or tartaric acid. 
If this acid treatment does not remove the spot, bleach it 
by covering it with lemon juice and salt and exposing it to 
sunlight. 

Medicine. — Medicine stains may usually be dissolved and 
removed by means of alcohol. 

Mildew. — Treat as for iron stains. Boiling in strong 
borax water is recommended. Mildew is usually very re- 
fractory. The bad color can be removed by bleaching if the 
remedies proposed above do not seem sufficient, but it is 
more than likely that the fabric will be very tender after 
the bleaching process. 

Milk and Cream. — Milk stains can be removed with cold 



THE CARE OF TEXTILES 309 

water or with cold water and soap. Hot water sets the 
milk stain and makes it difficult to remove. 

Mud. — Dip in gasoline or benzine. Small spots may be 
concealed by using chalk or white watercolor when it is 
not convenient to have the cloth cleaned with a solvent at 
once. 

Paint. — Dab with turpentine. A mixture of turpentine 
and chloroform is often very effective in removing old paint 
stains from even delicate fabrics. Naphtha soap should be 
used in washing out paint oil stains. 

Perspiration. — Use strong soap solutions and expose to 
sunshine. Perspiration under the arm is of a different 
chemical composition from that of other parts of the body, 
and is neutralized by dilute hydrochloric acid. The acid 
should be very dilute, about one part acid to seventy-five 
or a hundred parts water. 

Tar. — Cover with lard, let stand a while, and then wash 
in hot soapsuds. 

Tea. — Treat as for coffee stains. Tea contains tannic 
acid, and may therefore be treated by using ammonia or 
some other alkali. 

Varnish. — Treat like paint stains. 

Vaseline. — Vaseline is not soluble in acids or alkalies, but 
can be dissolved in kerosene or benzine, and then washed 
out with hot soapsuds. 

Wine. — Treat like fruit stains. Fresh wine can be very 
largely neutralized by spreading salt over the spot while 
wet. 



1 



CHAPTER XXIV 

TEXTILE TESTS 

Reasons for textile tests. — Each of the commonly used 
textile materials has its peculiar characteristics. Each 
varies from the others in length, strength, diameter, elastic- 
ity, crimpiness, luster, and color — elementary qualities which 
determine a special result in the fabric made from the par- 
ticular fiber. Hence fabrics made from the different tex- 
tiles differ in strength, elasticity, luster, color, and feeling, 
even when manufactured by precisely similar qualities. 
Each textile must be carefully selected with a view to its 
particular purpose. Everyone, therefore, who has any- 
thing to do with the selecting or with the purchasing and 
sale of textiles needs to know thoroughly these fundamental 
qualities of the different textiles. 

But not only are there these original differences in the 
various textiles ; there are even greater differences in the 
qualities of fabrics due to the processes of weaving and 
finishing. Men continually devise new and more com- 
plicated methods of constructing and finishing the goods. 
The quality of the cotton fiber used may be generally the 
same, yet very great differences may be found in even such 
staple goods as cotton sheetings. "All wool and a yard 
wide" may mean much or little as to textile quality, accord- 
ing to the methods of manufacture. Silk cloths have differ- 
ences as great as there are between summer and winter. 
Pure linen may be of great value; it may, too, be trash. 
The one, therefore, who handles textiles needs to know not 

310 



TEXTILE TESTS 311 

only the elementary qualities of the textile fibers, but also 
enough about the processes of manufacture to determine 
the qualities that may be expected from each. 

Finally, the one who handles textile goods needs a special 
knowledge of the subject in order to determine whether 
he gets what he pays for. The great differences in value 
among the textiles and their products have led to a great 
deal of imitation, especially by way of so manipulating the 
cheaper textiles as to make them look like the more ex- 
pensive goods, or again by mixing higher priced with 
cheaper textiles, sometimes with the purpose of procuring 
certain very desirable qualities, at other times to produce 
goods with only the appearance of the higher priced textile 
at a cost more nearly that of the cheaper. Unscrupulous 
manufacturers and dealers have often been able to sell these 
imitations and adulterated goods at prices far above their 
intrinsic value simply because their customers did not know 
how to estimate values properly. 

The buyer of textiles, therefore, needs to know textiles 
and textile tests in order to know positively what he is 
getting. A cheap textile is just as legitimate as a high 
priced one provided the purchaser knows what it is and 
pays only its value. The value of a textile lies in the service 
that it will perform, whether that be for wear, for appear- 
ance, or for style. Waste occurs whenever more is paid 
for a textile than it is worth as compared with other tex- 
tiles in the market. Waste occurs again whenever a textile 
is put to a use for which it has no desirable qualities and 
for which it was never intended. Buying textiles for the 
service they will render demands that the purchaser should 
know textile values and the means or tests of determining 
those values. '^ 

Those who sell textile goods need this knowledge in even 
higher degree than consumers since they are usually called 
upon to handle a greater variety of textiles than any one 



312 TEXTILES 

consumer. As retailers come to see clearly that their func- 
tion is to supply what will satisfy, instead of merely to 
dispose of their stock at a profitable figure, they will in- 
creasingly recognize the need for special textile knowledge 
on the part of salespeople and others who serve customers. 
A salesman's word upon his goods should be authoritative; 
his service should consist in supplying each customer with 
what will give the most satisfaction for the money. 

Necessity for simple tests. — Knowledge of textiles and 
textile tests are then all-important, for the store buyer, the 
salesman, and the consumer. For practical purposes the 
tests need to be both reliable and simple. The methods of 
the laboratory will hardly do for the average store or home. 
There is neither time nor equipment for elaborate chemical 
or microscopical examinations. The tests must require lit- 
tle time, labor, expense, or equipment. The results must be 
made as evident as possible. Something, therefore, must 
doubtless be sacrificed in the way of accuracy, but this may 
be atoned for by the common sense and experience of the 
one making the test. An experienced eye and hand will go 
far in helping to determine textile qualities, especially when 
checked by a few simple chemical or other scientific tests. 



THE KINDS OF TESTS TO BE MADE 

The following are the classes of necessary textile tests 
that may be applied readily in any retail store or home, and 
with very slight expense of time or money : 

1. To determine the quantity, the length and width, the 

thickness and weight. 

2. To determine the strength, firmness, flexibility, and 

durability. 

3. To determine fastness of color and permanency of 

finish. 



TEXTILE TESTS 313 

4. To determine the kind of material used in the con- 

struction of the fabric. 

5. To determine the presence and quality of any adultera- 

tions used in the fabrics. 

Length and width. — It is to be presumed that all who 
buy textiles will give the needed attention to the facts of 
measurement. The matter of length is simple, but probably 
not enough attention has been given to width properly to 
recognize qualities of the various widths into which fabrics 
are made up. Those who make up men's and women's 
clothing have in some cases made careful investigations of 
the possibilities of cutting up the various widths of suitings. 
According to some large manufacturers of ladies' garments, 
cloth made in fifty-four-inch widths cuts up to the best 
advantage; that is, leaves the least waste, with the present 
styles. Not enough study has yet been given to this point 
to assure an authoritative statement covering the general 
textile uses. It is clear, however, that the width of a cloth 
is a matter to be considered by all who have to cut it up. 

A consideration of width in relation to price is another 
important matter. This calls for no more knowledge than 
an application of simple arithmetic. For example, which is 
the moi"e economical to buy (assuming that both widths 
cut up with about equal amounts of waste), twenty-seven- 
inch cloth at sixty cents or thirty-six-inch cloth at seventy- 
five cents a yard? The twenty-seven-inch cloth will cost 
(6oc.^-27/36 or %) eighty cents a square yard, or five cents 
more a yard than the thirty-six-inch cloth, which costs 
seventy-five cents a square yard. 

Which will cost the more, eighteen-inch fabric at $1.30 
a yard, or twenty-seven-inch fabric at $2.10 a yard? Re- 
ducing both to denominations of square yards, we find the 
first costing ($1.30-^18/36 or ^) $2.60 a square yard, 
and the second costing ($2.10-^-27/36 or ^) $2.80 a square 



314 TEXTILES 

yard. The narrower fabric is, therefore, twenty cents 
cheaper for each square yard than the wider. These two 
illustrations will probably suffice to show what care the 
buyer of textiles must exercise. 

Weight. — The weight of the fabric, especially when free 
from adulterations or weighting materials, is a fair guide 
to the value of the fabric, other things being equal. Woolen 
goods, blankets, suitings, and dress goods should be 
weighed on scales, and should be sold by weight, after the 
construction, style, and quality of the textiles have been de- 
termined. The mere sense of touch is not accurate enough. 
Large consumers of such goods almost invariably have 
the goods weighed, and base their purchases upon standard 
weights for each yard of goods. Other goods such as silks, 
cottons, and linens could also be weighed with profit were 
it not for the prevalence of weighting substances in such 
fabrics. Simply weighing a piece of silk gives no idea as 
to the amount of pure silk in its construction. It would 
show the amount of silk if it were pure, but cannot reveal 
possible adulterations. Other tests have to be employed 
for such goods. 

Durability, a relative term. — A universal requirement of 
all textile fabrics is a certain amount of durability, or ability 
to withstand wear. This quality may vary greatly accord- 
ing to the use to which the goods are to be put. Millinery 
trimming fabrics are not used so roughly as dress goods; 
hence, they need not be so strong as dress goods. Consider- 
ing their purposes, they may be equally durable, since they 
may both last equally long in use. Cloth intended for men's 
wear is usually made stronger than that for women's wear, 
for the obvious reason that in use men's goods are often 
subjected to greater wear and strain than are women's 
goods. 

Durability is often sacrificed to secure certain fashion- 
able or artistic effects, thus causing some higher priced 



TEXTILE TESTS 315 

goods to be less strong than cheaper goods. The higher 
qualities represented by higher prices to the yard are by 
no means always qualities of greater durability. But, in 
any case, whoever has anything to do with textiles is likely 
to desire a certain degree of strength and durability as a 
matter of course. As stated before, buying or selling cloth 
is essentially nothing more nor less than buying or selling 
the service that cloth performs. This service may be either 
a fashionable or pleasing appearance in use, or a durability 
in wear. Sometimes these two factors work together, 
sometimes they are in opposition. In some cases it may 
be impossible to preserve a reasonable amount of durability 
while producing a fabric entirely desirable in appearance. 
It has been most difficult to do this in many of the women's 
dress goods where extreme sheerness, filminess, or laciness 
was considered essential to good looks. In some other 
cases, fashion swings to the other extreme, calling for ap- 
pearance and strength far beyond the actual needs of the 
garment; wherefore many clothes go out of fashion long 
before they wear out. Good value, so far as durability is 
concerned, is laid away in chests, hung up in closets or 
clothes presses^ or sold to second-hand dealers and ragmen, 
to be reduced to shoddy, paper pulp, or what not. With 
fashion and its effects we are not here concerned. We 
shall simply give our attention to some of the causes or 
conditions of durability and the methods or tests applicable 
to determine durability and strength. 

Quality of fiber. — It is clear that the strength of the 
fabric depends upon a great number of things. Primarily 
the quality of the fiber used in making the yarns must be 
considered. No matter what the textile may be, short, 
damaged, weakened fibers do not make as strong yarns, 
and therefore not as strong fabrics, as long, healthy, fresh 
fibers. Something of the quality and of the fiber may be 
learned by simply unraveling a few yarns drawn from the 



3i6 TEXTILES 

fabric and examining each little fiber carefully and testing 
its strength by pulling it to pieces. With experience in this, 
a person may become a very good judge of the fiber quality. 

Quality of yarns. — ^Cloths made from two-ply or three- 
ply yarns, that is, yarns which have been made by twisting 
two or more simple yarns together, are, as a rule, more dur- 
able than single yarns. Cloths made from combed yarns, 
such as worsteds, are stronger and more durable, pound 
for pound, than cloths made from carded yarns, such as 
woolens. The combing principle is applied to cottons as 
well as wools ; hence, this point needs consideration in deal- 
ing with cotton goods, especially in hosiery and knit goods, 
in which lines combed cottons are mostly used now. 

The difference between carded and combed yarns may 
be determined by simply untwisting the yarn and noting 
the arrangment of the fibers in the yarn. Worsted yarns 
are made from fibers that have been combed and the fibers 
therefore all lie parallel. Woolens are made from carded 
wool yarns. In this class the fiber runs in every possible 
direction and with absolutely no order of arrangement. 

The same arrangement of fibers in yarns is also to be 
noted in cottons. The highest grade silks are made from 
thrown silk yarn threads, which in turn are made from 
several strands of cocoon silk, all lying parallel. All but 
the poorest waste silks are combed and prepared much 
the same as worsted yarn, and hence show the parallel 
arrangement, but differ from thrown silk in the fact that 
the fibers are short. The poorest grades of silk are carded 
and spun much like carded wool. The arrangement can be 
traced easily in any of these cases by simply untwisting a 
strand and noting how the fibers lie. 

Nature of weave. — To determine the character of weave 
requires some knowledge of the general classes of weaves. 
The cloth to be tested is simply carefully examined to see 
how the threads are interlaced. As an aid to this process 



TEXTILE TESTS 317 

it is best, whenever possible, to unravel a few threads in 
both directions of the cloth. A magnifying glass can be 
used to good advantage, especially a little glass known as 
a "linen tester." These magnifying glasses are made in 
sizes permitting one to study the cloth surface in spaces 
from a quarter inch square up to an inch square. They 
cost little and very materially aid the eye. Every textile 
goods salesman should own one. 

The ''counts." — The number of threads or yarns run- 
ning each way — that is, the number of "counts" — ^may be 
determined by marking off an inch square on the cloth and 
actually counting the threads running each way within the 
square. Using a pin or other sharp-pointed instrument in 
separating the fibers one by one assists considerably in 
the counting. A "linen tester" magnifier can be of great 
assistance in determining the count since the space magni- 
fied is either a quarter, half, or full inch, so that no time 
need be lost in marking off an inch on the cloth with a ruler 
or tape. If a few yarns are unraveled under the glass, 
their sizes can be noted, and also how hard they are twisted 
and whether they are single or two-ply; with care, too, the 
length of fibers used in making the yarns can be determined. 

The higher the number of "counts" per square inch, the 
yarn remaining the same in size and quality, the more 
durable the cloth. Cotton sheetings may run from thirty- 
five to seventy counts to the inch in either direction, and 
other cloths vary in the same manner. The counts are 
not usually the same for both ways in the cloth. 

As illustrations rather than as standards, the following 
figures are given showing the counts as found in certain 
samples of cloth: 

Long cloth 70 X 64 

Nainsook 83 x y6 

Lawn yy x y6 



3i8 TEXTILES 

Persian lawn 79 x 82 

Fine shirting 93 x 88 

Percale 66 x 58 

Madras shirtings 68 x 48 

Calico 61x46 

Fine gingham 86 x 84 

Organdy 67 x 64 

Marquisette 51x34 

Pique 135 X 83 

Table damask 66 x 57 

Curtain scrim 24x24 

Poplin 103 X 46 

Closeness of weave. — Holding the cloth up to the light 
and looking through it will be of assistance in determining 
whether the weave is close or loose, whether any filling 
or weighting materials such as starch have been added, and 
whether the yarns are uniform or not. 

Firmness. — Another test, used to determine the firmness 
of the weave, is to scrape the thumbnail diagonally across 
the weave. If the construction is loose, there will be a path- 
way of loosened threads made across the cloth after the 
thumbnail. This test can be applied very well to cottons, 
linens, and silks. 

Elasticity. — The elasticity of the fabric, a quality much 
desired for certain uses and one which usually adds to 
durability, rnay be determined by crumpling a small portion 
of the cloth in the hand and then noting its behavior when 
the pressure is removed. If it springs back into its former 
shape quickly, its degree of elasticity is very high. This 
is a characteristic that may best be seen in good grades 
of all wool fabrics. But the test may also be^ applied to 
other textiles in the same manner. 

Weighting. — Rubbing between the fingers white goods 
that are suspected of being weighted with starches, China 



TEXTILE TESTS 319 

clay, or other heavy materials, will often reveal the weight- 
ing substances in the form of dust. When tearing causes 
a dust to fly, this may be taken as a sign of heavy 
weighting. 

Strength. — The easiest method of determining the rela- 
tive strength of fabrics is by comparing the amounts of 
strength necessary to pull them apart with the hands. Care 
should be exercised to make the conditions of the tests as 
nearly equal as possible. About the same width of cloth 
should be grouped in the thumbs and fingers preparatory to 
the pull in each case and the pull should be exerted in the 
same direction for each fabric, either in the direction of the 
warp threads or of the weft or filling. In fact, the best way 
to test the strength of a fabric is by comparing the pull 
necessary to tear the fabric both in the direction of the 
warp and of the filling. In some cases it may be found that 
a cloth is much weaker in one of these directions than the 
other. The cloth should be judged by its weakest points 
rather than its strongest, for in use it will wear out or go 
to pieces at its weakest point first. Samuel S. Dale, editor 
of the Textile World Record and one of America's greatest 
textile experts, says that the proper way to apply this test 
is to grasp the cloth in both hands about an inch apart and 
then to pull steadily, rather than to draw the cloth tight in 
the hands and then to place the thumbs together and press 
them into the cloth. *'By the former method there is a 
direct strain on the hands, enabling the resistance offered by 
the cloth to be fairly judged. By the second method there 
is a powerful leverage by means of the contact of the two 
thumbs, producing a high tension of the fabric with com- 
paratively slight effort." 

Quality of Tests. — It should be remembered that such 
tests as those given above are only relative, and the results 
must be considered only as approximations. For example, 
to determine the breaking strength of a fabric by pulling 



320 TEXTILES 

it to pieces in the hands is far from an accurate test. Our 
judgment as to the amount of pull that we exert is bound 
to vary according to our physical condition. What may 
seem like a comparatively easy pull at one time may seem 
like a hard pull at another. Large users of textiles, institu- 
tions which cannot afford to make any mistakes on such 
points as these, measure the breaking strength by taking 
strips of equal widths and testing them in machines that 
register every pound and ounce required to pull the cloth 
apart. Such instruments are called dynamometers and 
work on the same principle as a spring balance. Firms 
using them usually have certain standards which all cloth 
must reach before being considered acceptable. 

Tests for flocks. — Finally, there remain, especially ap- 
plicable to woolen and worsted goods, tests which deter- 
mine whether flock or pulverized wool enters into the con- 
struction of the fabric, whether the cloth will turn shiny 
easily, whether the nap will wear well, and whether the 
cloth will keep its shape. 

Flocks or very short wool fibers obtained from shearing 
the surface of wool or worsted cloths are often worked into 
woolen cloths in the fulling process. They are nearly al- 
ways applied to the back of the cloth, sometimes to both 
sides. When the fulling is well done, these short fibers 
have penetrated the body of the cloth deeply and do not 
come out easily. But when imperfectly fulled, or when 
too much of this kind of material is used, it comes out 
easily in wearing. Its presence may be determined by 
brushing the back of the cloth briskly with a good stiff 
brush. If flocks have been used, a number of short fibers 
will come out in the brushing. 

Tests to determine whether wool will turn shiny. — Many 
otherwise excellent wool fabrics are objectionable because 
they easily turn shiny. One can tell to a certain extent in 
advance whether this objectionable quality will develop or 



TEXTILE TESTS 321 

not. The sheen or shiny surface on a worn wool fabric is 
due to the fact that the loose fibers, fuzz, or nap is pressed 
down or worn off completely, exposing only the surfaces of 
fibers lying lengthwise in the yarns of which the fabric is 
composed. From this it will be clear that worsteds are 
more likely to wxar shiny than woolens. Cloths made from 
the long, lustrous, straight fibers are far more liable to 
turn shiny than shorter, softer, and more crinkly wools, 
there being fewer ends exposed. Fulling or felting tends 
to prevent this objectionable feature; but fulling also 
changes the character of such a material as serge. If the 
loose fibers are simply pressed down they may be raised, 
removing the shine by steaming, rubbing with a similar 
material and then pressing carefully. Dark-colored or 
hard-woven fabrics seem to become shiny more easily than 
light-colored or soft-woven varieties. 

Estimate of durability of nap. — The durability of the 
nap on such wool goods as kerseys may be estimated by 
first determining which way the nap lies. This may be 
done by rubbing the hand over the cloth in various direc- 
tions. It will be found that in one direction the cloth feels 
smooth while in the opposite direction the ends of the 
fibers strike the hand noticeably. Moving the hand in the 
direction that offers the least resistance is called ''with the 
nap." The opposite direction is said to be "against the 
nap." By wetting the end of the thumb and rubbing it 
against the nap, the character of the nap can readily be 
ascertained. A poor construction that will wear out easily 
is readily displaced and becomes frowsy looking after but 
little handling. However, if the nap consists of short, 
thickly set fibers that offer considerable resistance to rub- 
bing with the wet thumb, the cloth will stand hard wear 
without the nap becoming rough or loose. A long, loose, 
wavy nap is never very durable. Heavily napped goods, 
whether intended for dresses, overcoats, blankets, or what 



Z22 TEXTILES 

not, should not be expected to wear as well as lighter 
napped fabrics. 

Tests to determine whether cloth will hold its shape or 
not. — Whether or not a cloth will hold its shape is due en- 
tirely to the body of the fabric. Firmly woven goods hold 
up much better than soft or loosely woven goods. Coupled 
with firmness should go a high degree of elasticity. Drap- 
ing qualities may be tested easily by noting how the fabric 
acts when thrown into loose folds or in a jumbled heap. 
Draping qualities are dependent primarily upon flexibility. 

Fastness of color, a relative term. — Absolute fastness of 
color is not a possibility in textile manufacture. All that 
can be done is to produce colorings which will be fast un- 
der the ordinary conditions of use; that is, fast in some 
degree to light, air, washing, soap, rubbing, street wear, 
perspiration, and so on. In addition to these qualities, 
manufacturers are often under the necessity of providing 
for still other features which do not concern us here, such, 
for example, as fastness to alkalies, acids, heat, and finish- 
ing processes, since the cloth must pass through such con- 
ditions before reaching the finished stage. 

To produce colors that are very fast requires considera- 
bly more time, material, and expense than to produce col- 
ors not so fast. This is a general rule. Where a less fast 
color will serve the purpose fully as well in use, it seems 
unwise to assume the additional cost of producing a very 
fast color. Military cloths, for example, which are in- 
tended for much exposure to sun, air, and rain, need to be 
dyed with much more attention to fastness than fine silks 
in delicate shades for evening wear, that is, for use under 
artificial light. The latter colors might be very fleeting 
in bright sunlight, but since the fabric is not intended for 
wear under such conditions, its service is not reduced by 
using the weaker colors. Fabrics of weak material or loose 
weave do not need and do not receive the fast colors re- 



TEXTILE TESTS 323 

quired by strong, durable fabrics. Curtains and carpets 
should both be dyed fast to light, but carpets should also be 
dyed fast to friction and the wear of feet, while curtains 
should be dyed fast to washing in hot water and soapsuds. 
Hence, the same coloring substances may by no means 
serve for both classes of fabrics. Underwear and stockings 
should be dyed fast to washing, soap, perspiration, and 
wear. Linings must be dyed fast to friction and perspira- 
tion. In the same manner every sort of textile should be 
dyed with special reference to its use if the best results are 
to be obtained at the lowest costs. Students applying the 
following tests should bear these facts in mind. 

Fastness to light. — To determine how fast a colored fabric 
may be to light and air, the samples to be tested should 
be cut in two and the halves carefully marked for subse- 
quent matching. One-half of each sample should then be 
laid away under cover from light, while the other half 
should be hung out in a sunny place for several days. 
As to standards of fastness, it may be noted that the very 
strongest, fastest dyes, such as Turkey red, begin to fade 
between the twenty-fifth and thirtieth days in summer, 
while indigo blue fades between the twelfth and fifteenth 
day. Summer light is more powerful than winter light ; 
hence, allowances have to be made for the season of the 
year. A color that remains fast a month may be termed 
"fast." If it fades in about two weeks, it may be called 
"moderately fast." If it fades in less than fourteen days, 
it is called "fleeting." Allowances are also to be made 
for the effects of moisture, particularly salt water, in the 
air. Such moisture makes some colors more fast, while ren- 
dering others less so. 

Fastness to washing. — Fastness to washing may be de- 
termined by actually washing a sample of the fabric thor- 
oughly in hot soapsuds and then comparing it with the 
same goods still unwashed. In laboratories the usual 



324 TEXTILES 

method is to make up strong hot soapsuds, using pure soap 
and distilled water, and to boil the colored sample of cloth 
or yarn in these suds for twenty minutes along with a piece 
of undyed cloth of the same kind. If the colors are not 
absolutely fast, they will "run" from the dyed fabric into 
the undyed and give to this piece of goods a tint. Some- 
times the experiment is performed several times over on 
the same sample to note just how many washings are re- 
quired to show any perceptible fading or running. 

Fastness to friction. — Fastness to friction or rubbing is 
usually determined by rubbing the colored goods briskly 
over a clean, white, laundered cotton handkerchief. If the 
handkerchief is discolored in any way, it shows that the 
fabric is not fast to friction, and therefore not suitable for 
hosiery, underwear, lining material, and so on. 

Fastness to street wear. — Fastness to street wear includes 
fastness to light, rain, dust, and friction. Light, washing, 
and friction tests have already been described. To deter- 
mine if a fabric is proof against spotting as a result of 
drops of water or of dust, a sample may be sprinkled with 
water, preferably water in which a little lime has been 
added, and then dried before brushing off. Any change in 
color or luster is carefully noted, since this would indicate 
unfitness for street wear or other outdoor use. 

Fastness to perspiration is best tested by wearing a 
sample of the fabric next to the skin for a few days. Mili- 
tary cloths are tested for fastness against perspiration by 
placing small samples in the shoes of the marching soldiers, 
or by placing them on a horse's back under the saddle. 
Several days' test in these ways shows conclusively the de- 
gree of fastness. 

Permanency of finish. — Permanency of finish is deter- 
mined by the same tests as those used to determine fast- 
ness of dyes. The sun, washing, and friction tests espe- 
cially reveal any weakness in finish. Weighting materials 



TEXTILE TESTS 325 

used for cottons usually come out in the wash test, as do 
the special calender surface finishes. 

Tests for kinds of textiles. — Tests for determining the 
kinds of material used in a piece of fabric consist mainly 
in recognizing by sight and feeling the easily observed 
characteristics of the several textiles. Difficulties arise in 
great numbers, however, when these textiles are combined.' 
To tell linen from cotton, silk from mercerized yarn, natu- 
ral wool from shoddy, and mulberry silk from artificial 
silk usually takes more careful analysis than any eye or 
hand unaided by other tests can yield. Here chemical or 
microscopic methods are necessary. Some of these tests 
can be made easily; the mere fact that they are chemical, 
for example, should in no wise discourage the untechnical 
salesman or consumer. The process of testing a fabric 
solely to determine what kinds of fibers it comprises is 
known in chemistry, and generally in the textile industries, 
as qualitative analysis. 

When the presence of certain textiles has been deter- 
mined in a fabric, it may often be desirable to investigate 
yet further in order to determine what proportions of each 
enter into the total make-up of the fabric. This process is 
called quantitative analysis. This is much more difficult 
outside of a laboratory, but one can frequently ascertain 
approximately the amounts of each substance or fiber used 
in the fabric. 

DiMculties to be encountered. — As already indicated, 
each of the common textile fibers has a peculiar appearance 
which anyone can learn to recognize quite easily with ex- 
perience. This was the chief means of telling wool from 
cotton and linen from cotton fifty years ago. But in the 
intervening period there has been tremendous progress in 
the textile production, much of which has taken the form 
of so changing the cheaper kinds of textile fibers in ap- 
pearance that they closely resemble the more costly fibers. 



326 TEXTILES 

In fact, it is now difficult for even the most experienced 
to tell by the sense of sight and touch alone the differences 
between a particular fabric and its imitation. 

Use of the microscope. — Under a high-power microscope 
the essential characteristics of each kind of fiber are, of 
course, more easily made out than with the naked eye; 
imitations may likewise be easily made out, for the original 
characteristics are in no case entirely changed in the proc- 
esses which textile manufacturers employ in producing the 
imitations. But a high-power microscope is expensive, and 
requires some skill in manipulation as well as time for 
making the proper tests. Hence, its use cannot be de- 
scribed here. Textile students desiring to go into a study 
of the use of the microscope can find a number of excellent 
manuals which give in detail instructions in its use and 
its applications to textile fibers. Despite its cost and the 
care required in using it, the day is probably not far distant 
when every well-equipped dry goods house will have as a 
part of its equipment a textile laboratory, and in this con- 
nection the microscope will be a most useful and valuable 
instrument. 

Detection of adulterations of wool. — ^Wool is commonly 
adulterated or cheapened by the addition of either cotton 
or shoddy (refuse wool goods reduced to fiber by shred- 
ding machines), sometimes of both. It helps somewhat to 
know how these cheapening substances are introduced into 
pure, natural wool. Knowing this, one is prepared to look 
for evidences of the mixing in definite places. 

Cotton is often carded or combed into the wool before 
the spinning. The yarn then becomes a uniform mixture 
of cotton and wool in the proportions in which they were 
mixed. The cotton, when worked into the wool in this way, 
is often difficult to detect by the common tests. 

Sometimes cotton threads are twisted in with worsted 
in the process of drawing before the spinning. 



TEXTILE TESTS 327 

Again, cotton threads of the same color as the wool or 
worsted threads are introduced in the weaving, either as 
filling or warp. In some cases, the entire warp is made of 
cotton yarn and the entire filling is made of wool, or vice 
versa. 

Cotton yarn is sometimes veneered with wool fibers by 
means of special machines which produce a yarn that out- 
wardly resembles all wool. 

Shoddy is mixed with natural wool in about the same 
manner as cotton, and even cotton and shoddy mixtures are 
sometimes made, using cotton yarn for warp and shoddy 
for filling. / 

Cotton may be distinguished from wool and discovered' 
in the wool mixtures by the following means : 

Appearance. — Cotton fibers can usually be told from 
wool fibers by the eye; especially if assisted by a magnifying 
glass. Cotton fibers are straight and dull in luster, while 
wool is curly or crinkly and possesses considerable luster or 
lively appearance. However, some varieties of cotton, like 
the Peruvian, closely resemble wool fiber of poorer grades ; 
hence, the need for more accurate tests than mere use of 
the eye. 

Fire test. — Cotton is a vegetable fiber, and wool is an 
animal fiber. Vegetable fibers are all composed mainly 
of cellulose, an easily burned substance, whereas all animal 
fibers are composed mainly of nitrogenous materials, which 
burn with difficulty. Vegetable yarn can be told from ani- 
mal fiber by setting fire to a strand of each. The vegetable 
fiber will burn quickly, while the animal fiber will burn very 
slowly and with difficulty. At the same time the burning 
animal fiber gives off a disagreeable odor that is charac- 
teristic of burning hair, feathers, horn, and so on. The 
odor that comes from burning wool is especially disagree- 
able because of the fact that besides the nitrogenous ma- 
terials it also contains sulphur, which gives an additional. 



328 TEXTILES 

strength to the odor. The burning test is a certain means 
of determining whether a fiber is vegetable or animal. If 
the test shows that a fiber is vegetable, other methods must 
be employed to determine what particular vegetable. It is 
not likely that linen fibers would be mixed with wool; 
hence, any vegetable fibers detected in woolen yarn or cloth' 
would almost certainly be cotton. Since cotton and wool 
are frequently spun together in the same thread, the burn- 
ing cannot be used as an absolute test except for individual 
fibers. 

Boiling-out test. — Burning is a chemical test, though a 
simple one. There is another chemical test that anyone can 
apply to determine whether or not wool yarn or cloth con- 
tains any cotton or other vegetable fiber, a test that is more 
valuable than the burning test, since it permits the making 
of an estimate of the quantity of any cotton introduced. 
This is known as the "boiling-out test." A solution is first 
prepared by dissolving one ounce of caustic potash or 
caustic soda in a pint of water. The water should be heated 
to make the caustic dissolve more quickly. This amount 
may serve for several tests. Boiling a small sample of 
pure wool in some of this solution entirely dissolves the 
sample in less than fifteen minutes, but the same amount of 
boiling would have practically no effect on cotton or linen — 
another difference in effect due to the fact that vegetable 
fibers are cellulose, while animal fibers like wool contain 
nitrogen. Therefore, if a mixture of cotton and wool were 
to be boiled in the solution for fifteen minutes, all of 
the wool would be destroyed, while the cotton would 
remain. 

Before this boiling-out test, the sample should be care- 
fully washed, dried, and then weighed. After the test, the 
residue should once more be weighed ; whereupon, by sim- 
ple arithmetical calculation, we learn the approximate pro- 
portions of cotton and of wool in the fabric, thus : 



TEXTILE TESTS 329 

J weight before placing 1 _ f weight of \ _ f weight of material \ 
\ in caustic solution J t residue J 1 dissolved J 

th,at is to say, 

cotton and wool — cotton = pure wool. 

As stated in the case of the burning test, the only dis- 
tinction made by the test is between the vegetable and ani- 
mal fibers. Because of our knowledge of the costs of tex- 
tiles, we feel certain that linen would not be used instead 
of cotton as the vegetable fiber, and the wool is recognized 
by its own qualities from any other animal fiber such as 
mohair or silk, although both of these would, like wool, 
dissolve in the caustic. 

Acid test. — By using a strong solution of sulphuric acid 
(80 per cent) instead of caustic, and by immersing the 
cotton-mixed wool in this chemical for about twelve hours, 
and then washing the residue in alcohol, it w411 be found 
that the cotton is dissolved instead of the wool, and com- 
parisons can be made by weight in this experiment as well 
as in the former case. 

Detection of shoddy. — Shoddy cannot be distinguished 
from natural wool by any chemical test, since shoddy is 
itself wool. It differs from natural wool only in that it has 
been used before for textile purposes and is in most cases 
less strong and less elastic than natural wool. It is very 
difficult to distinguish shoddy from natural wool, but there 
are certain characteristics which indicate the presence of 
shoddy, such as very short fibers, fibers of various colors, 
lack of uniformity in size and general character of the 
scale structure, ends broken and uneven, scales missing on 
parts of the fiber. Three characteristics of shoddy that are 
revealed by the compound microscope cannot be seen by 
the naked eye : 

I. Because of the wear to which most shoddy has al- 
ready been subjected in some fabric and because of the 



330 TEXTILES 

shredding process which tore the individual fibers apart 
from the old fabric or yarn, the original scales found on 
all sheep's wool may be largely missing or broken down on 
shoddy fibers. 

2. For the same reasons, the ends of shoddy fibers may 
not be so regular as those of natural wool clipped from 
the sheep's back. Shoddy, under the microscope, presents 
ends that are broken and torn. 

3. Wherever the shoddy came from dyed fabrics it re- 
tains some of the coloring matters from the former dye 
even under the new dye. This makes a difference in the 
hues^ visible under the microscope, even in very dark-dyed 
materials. When this variation in color is to be found, 
one is usually justified in concluding that shoddy is present. 

For the student who has not access to a microscope, 
there is no adequate test for shoddy. But since the chief 
evil of shoddy is its lessened durability, the student may fall 
back upon the more general textile tests for strength and 
durability given earlier in this book. What is most im- 
portant is that the fabric purchased shall give adequate 
service for the money expended. It is even possible that 
the presence of good grades of shoddy would be preferable 
to the poorest grades of wool in the fabrics purchased; it 
all depends upon the uses to which the fabrics are to be 
put and the prices paid for them. 

Tests for Distinguishing Cotton and Linen. — Owing 
to the great difference in cost between cotton and linen, 
it is only natural that cotton should often be used in place 
of linen. It is natural, too, that cotton and linen should 
be mixed for many purposes, and even that cotton should 
be substituted for linen in deceptive ways. It is not so 
easy to distinguish cotton from linen as it is to distinguish 
vegetable fibers from animal fibers. Both cotton and linen 
are composed almost entirely of the same substance, cellu- 
lose. Yet there are generally differences enough, physical 




Torn end of cotton material. 




Torn end of linen material. 



TEXTILE TESTS 331 

and chemical, to allow accurate distinction between the two. 
Tearing test. — In general, linen is stronger than cotton. 
It takes more force to tear linen cloths than to tear cotton 
goods of equal thickness and sizes of yarns; further, the 
sound of tearing linen is more shrill than that of tearing 
cotton. The torn edge of linen cloth shows fibers that are 
decidedly unequal in length, parallel, and glossy. The torn 
edge of cotton cloth shows short, curly, rather even, luster- 
less fibers projecting. Snapping a linen thread apart leaves 
the fibers remaining straight and outstretched, whereas 
breaking a cotton thread quickly causes the latter to curl 

up. 

Weight and feeling. — Linen is nearly a fifth heavier than 
cotton, bulk for bulk. It has a leathery feeling that is 
absent in cotton. On the other hand, cotton feels warmer 
and holds the heat better than linen. It is estimated that 
cotton is from fifteen per cent to thirty per cent warmer 
than linen. 

Appearance. — In construction, carded cotton yarn is 
much like carded wool yarn, while linen yarn is like worsted 
yarn. The glossy linen fibers lie more or less parallel 
throughout the thread or yarn. 

Light test. — On holding linen cloth against light, the 
threads and the fibers composing the threads appear uneven 
and streaked. It is not possible to make linen yarn as 
uniform as cotton yarn; hence, this test may be used as a 
check on other tests where it is desired to determine the 
presence of linen threads. 

Burning test. — Burning the end of a linen thread leaves 
the fibers in the same relative position as before with no 
change except the scorched appearance. Burning a cotton 
thread causes the fibers to spread out like a tuft. 

Oil test. — Linen cloth freed from dressing by washing 
and boiling absorbs oil much better than cotton does. 
When, therefore, a cotton-mixed piece of linen goods is 



332 TEXTILES 

dipped in oil, the linen fibers look transparent if held 
against the light, while the cotton remains more nearly 
opaque. 

Acid test. — Linen stands the action of sulphuric acid bet- 
ter than cotton, and a test can be made based upon this 
difference. The samples are first carefully washed to re- 
move all dressing, dipped in concentrated sulphuric acid 
for a minute or two, and then washed in water and dried 
on blotting or filter paper. All that remains on the blotting 
paper is linen. The cotton almost immediately dissolves 
in the acid. By weighing the sample before and after the 
test, an approximation of the amount of cotton can be 
obtained as follows : 



j weight of fabric dipped \_J weight oi \ _ j weight of part 1 
I in sulphuric acid J \ residue J {_ dissolved J 



That is to say, 

linen and cotton — linen = cotton. 

Tests for silk and its imitations and adulterations. — 

Silk, the most valuable of all textiles, has more imitations 
than any other fiber. More processes have been invented 
to preserve the appearance of genuineness while utilizing 
cheaper fibers, than in any other textile industry. Silk 
fabrics are cheapened in at least seven ways : 

1. Spun silk is introduced in place of thrown silk. 

2. Wild silks, such as tussah, are used in place of mul- 
berry silk. 

3. The silk fiber is weighted with tannin and mineral 
salts. 

4. Artificial silk has been produced which in appearance 
rivals true silk. 

5. Cotton and linen are given finishes to resemble silk. 
Mercerizing is an example. 

6. Silk is mixed with wool for fancy effects. 



TEXTILE TESTS 333 

7. Silk is mixed with cotton or other vegetable fibers 
likewise for fancy effects, or for giving body to what might 
otherwise be a very flimsy silk fabric. 

Detection of Spun Silk. — Spun silk is often very diffi- 
cult to distinguish from thrown silk. Of course, the fibers 
are much shorter, but it is very difficult, if not impossible, 
to tease out the tiny separate silk fibers from silk yarn. 
Under the microscope the presence of spun silk can be 
determined by two facts. First, the fibers of waste silk 
are usually irregular in form; second, the sericin, or gum, 
is irregular in waste or spun silk. These facts are ac- 
counted for by the fact that the waste silk comes from 
the parts of the cocoons that do not reel off readily. 

Detection of Wild Silk. — When it is desired to de- 
termine whether wild silk, such as tussah, yamanai, or sene- 
ga!, enters into the structure of a silk fabric, one of the 
best tests is to prepare a solution of chromic acid as fol- 
lows : 

Dissolve chromic acid in cold water until the water will 
dissolve no more. Add an equal volume of pure water. 
The result is a semi-saturated or fifty per cent solution 
of chromic acid. Place the suspected silk sample in this 
solution and bring it to a boil. True silk, that is, mulberry 
silk, will dissolve within a minute after boiling begins, 
while tussah and other wild varieties will remain insoluble 
for at least three minutes. 

Detection of Weighting. — ^Weighting of silk can usu- 
ally be detected by the burning test. Separate threads 
from the warp, and the weft are set on fire with a burning 
match. Pure silk burns very badly and stops burning as 
soon as the burning match has been removed. Practically 
no ash is formed (less than one per cent), and the end 
of the fiber left unburned takes the shape of a little bulb. 
Weighted fibers, when burned, leave a considerable amount 
of ash, and the entire thread may keep its shape after being 



334 TEXTILES 

burned. When only the filling or the warp is weighted, 
applying the flame to a sample of the cloth seems to con- 
sume only one set of threads, the unweighted ones, the 
others keeping their form because of the heavy ash con- 
tent. To determine just what weighting substances are 
used is a subject for a more technical treatise than this. 

Tests for Artificial Silks. — Artificial silks made from 
cellulose, cotton, wood pulp, or other vegetable substances 
can be distinguished from true silk by the fire test. All 
cellulose silks burn readily and give off no odor; true silk 
burns badly and gives off the odor of burnt feathers. Arti- 
ficial silks, as a rule, are not so strong as true silk and not 
so elastic. When wet, artificial silks now on the market 
swell and become weak, whereas no such effect takes place 
in true silk. In a caustic potash solution, artificial silk 
turns yellow, while true silk remains colorless. 

Another chemical test is frequently used to distinguish 
true silk from the artificial. Dissolve ten parts copper sul- 
phate in one hundred parts water and add five parts glycer- 
ine. A white precipitate will form. Add enough caustic 
potash solution to dissolve this precipitate. To perform the 
test, immerse the suspected sample in this solution at ordi- 
nary room temperature. True silk will dissolve almost at 
once. Artificial silk will not dissolve. 

Detection of cotton. — To distinguish between silk and 
cotton or other vegetable fiber, apply the same test that was 
used to distinguish between wool and cotton, namely, boil- 
ing for fifteen minutes in a caustic potash solution. 
The silk dissolves, but the vegetable fiber is in no way 
affected. 

Another method is to prepare a solution of fuchsine, a 
dyestuff, and then decolorize it by adding caustic potash or 
caustic soda solution drop by drop until the color dis- 
appears. A sample of cloth made up of silk and cotton is 
immersed in this liquid for half an hour, and then washed 



TEXTILE TESTS 335 

carefully. When taken out, the silk, if there is any in the 
cloth, is red, while the cotton remains colorless. 

Detection of mercerized cotton. — Mercerized cotton may 
be determined as follows: A solution is prepared by dis- 
solving five ounces of potassium iodide in about a pint of 
water. To this solution add one or two ounces of iodine, 
and mix with another solution made by dissolving thirty 
ounces of zinc chloride in twelve ounces of water. The 
cloth sample should first be soaked in water, immersed in 
this prepared solution for three minutes, and then rinsed 
in water. Mercerized cotton will have a deep blue color, 
while unmercefized cotton will wash out white. The blue 
of this solution on mercerized cotton will show through 
quite heavy dyes. 

To distinguish mercerized cotton from silk in the same 
fabric, use the same tests as for ordinary cotton and silk 
mixtures. 

Separation of Silk and Wool. — Silk and wool mix- 
tures may be tested by immersing the fabric sample in a 
solution of zinc chloride of 1.7 specific gravity. Any drug- 
gist can make up this preparation. In this solution silk 
dissolves, but wool is unaffected. 

Another chemical method of separating wool and silk is 
by boiling the fabric sample in strong hydrochloric acid for 
fifteen minutes. In that time the silk will have dissolved, 
while the wool will remain intact. 

Use of the magnifying glass. —SiV^ that is mixed with 
cotton or wool can often be studied most easily by means 
of a magnifying glass or linen tester such as has already 
been described. The true silk fibers can usually be dis- 
tinguished by sight and the proportion of true silk to adul- 
terant or other component in the mixture fairly approxi- 
mated. 

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